Postman Pat

The first ride to be manufactured by OMC Electronics, the Postman Pat van was designed by Norman Lever (electronics), Arthur Combe (mechanics) and Tony Brookes (body pattern).  The first prototype was made in 1991 and sited at a children's play centre in Gloucester.  It was disappointingly unsuccessful and the idea was almost scrapped all together.  However, OMC Electronics were in financial trouble and decided to give it one last try in a bid to save the company.  Improvements were made to the design and the ride was trialled again, this time at the Postman Pat Village in Longleat.  It was an instant success and, in fact, the next improvement to be made to the design was to enlarge the cash box so that it wouldn't get overfilled so quickly!


Brighton Palace Pier, May 2002 (The painting on the side of the van is obviously not original!)

In December 1991, the first five Postman Pat rides were officially sold (the first ever one being sold to BAFCO).  The ride's popularity boomed and it became the most successful British-made ride of the 1990s.  1610 were made in total, 450 of those units sold in 1992 alone!


Crystal Palace Amusements, Hemsby, April 2017.  This particular unit had been refurbished by Northern Leisure Kiddy Rides, probably in the late 1990s.