The name and theme of Alton Towers’ new £16 million (U$21.5m) wooden rollercoaster has been revealed. According to the Merlin operated park, Wicker Man will be the world’s first rollercoaster experience fusing wood and fire.

Known during development as ‘SW8’, the attraction has been four years in planning. It will be the first new wooden rollercoaster to open in the UK for 21 years when it debuts this spring, and only ‘woodie’ at Alton Towers Resort.

A Wicker Man structure standing at 57.57ft (17.55m) tall will dominate the attraction and appear to burst into flames as the ride’s trains race three times through the structure. The American manufacturer Great Coasters International is responsible for the ride’s design. Featuring 2,028ft (618ft) of track, it has been built on land once occupied by the park’s log flume. Although the lift and first drop are of relatively modest height, the natural topography of the site will allow for many changes in elevation. Riders will have to be at least 1.2m tall to step inside the custom-themed trains.

“We are delighted to finally be announcing Wicker Man as the latest ground-breaking thrill attraction from Alton Towers Resort for 2018,” says the park’s creative lead, Bradley Wynne. “We hope visitors will be blown away by Wicker Man’s breathtaking scale whilst the primal essence of the wooden coaster and astonishing effects will leave them delighted, exhilarated and eager to ride again.”

The coaster enthusiast community is excited. “We’ve been hoping that Alton Towers would invest in a wooden coaster for a long time,” says Andy Hine MBE, chairman of the Roller Coaster Club of Great Britain. “We’re so pleased it’s finally coming with Wicker Man. GCI are known for building really exciting, smooth coasters, and this will be a great complement to the ‘Big Six’ steel rides already at the park.”

According to the ride’s storyline, visitors to Alton Towers will embark on a “multi-sensory rite of passage, in which they’ll be drawn into the mysterious world of The Beornen, a shadowy group living in the woods surrounding the theme park.”

The first publicity pictures for the attraction include artwork by illustrator Kyle Lambert, the artist behind the imagery for award-winning show Stranger Things, alongside other Hollywood movie work including Jurassic Park, Super 8 and Jumanji.

Park fans can keep up to date on the latest Wicker Man developments by visiting altontowers.com/wickerman or searching #WickerManRide across social media.