// BBC UK NEWS — CRONACA
Farm defends Titanic-themed ride after backlash
The ride has received criticism online that it was "disrespectful" to the victims of the 1912 disaster
The owners of a Titanic-themed ride have defended it after criticism it disrespected those who died in the 1912 disaster.
More than 1,500 people drowned when the ship struck an iceberg in the North Atlantic while on its maiden voyage from Southampton to New York.
The Titanic ride at Graveley Fruit Farm near Hitchin, Hertfordshire, sees the replica ship lift at one end to slide customers downwards, resembling the sinking of the ocean liner.
Manager Will Campbell-Gray said: "We're keeping the memory of Titanic alive and we're not making fun of the dead at all."
He added the ride was renamed The Big Tipper last year after complaints were made online, but the original name was restored after his wife received threats demanding it was changed back.
The Titanic was 269m (882ft) long, 28m (91ft) wide and more than 53m (173ft) tall, and took about three years to build.
Its construction cost £1.5m, which is about £170m in today's money.
The farm's owners estimate that about 500 people use the ride every day
The ride has received comments on social media calling it "disrespectful" and "odd".