Alton Towers 'bans' PDAs and smartphones

Alton Towers is testing a ban of PDAs and smartphones during this week's half-term break.

Between 25 May and 1 June the park will become a 'PDA Free Zone' in an attempt to get parents to disconnect from the office and reconnect with their families.

"We all need to use weekend breaks to reconnect and invest in our most important relationships in order to restore our work/life balance and put the fun back into going away," said Dr Pat Spungin, a child psychologist and founder of RaisingKids.co.uk.

"While lots of people take a break, many are not actually taking a holiday. It is vital that we learn how to reprioritise and put work into a healthy perspective."

Staff will be wandering about Alton Towers to 'enforce' the ban and any adult caught using a PDA will be asked to report to one of five 'PDA Drop Off Zones' where they can safely leave the device for the remainder of their visit.

"It is so important for parents and kids to focus on nothing more than having the best possible time, and we are prepared to take action to ensure that parents really leave their work behind," said Russell Barnes, divisional director at Alton Towers.

Those who refuse to comply will not be ejected or banned from the resort, but will be strongly encouraged to switch off their device and concentrate on having fun with their families.

Alton Towers has said that, if the trial is successful, it will be introduced full time.