An Edinburgh Festival sword swallower has suffered serious injuries after a stunt went 'tragically wrong'.
Well known to the art's festival, Gareth Williams was performing last week when the act, that he's done for over 30 years, failed and was rushed to hospital.
He lost a 'significant amount of blood' and suffered an 'internal injury', and faces a long recovery.
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As the Daily Record reports, he spent a week in hospital and is now continuing to recover at home, but he faces a long and slow process to fully heal from his injuries and will no longer able to perform his signature trick due to the damage caused to his body during the tragic accident.
Originally from Winchester, the performer, known as The Mighty Gareth, has been attracting huge crowds to his famous sword swallowing act at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival for over 30 years.
His dear friend Matt Keys has since launched a fundraiser in a bid to help Gareth while he is out of work. Matt explained that the the highly seasoned performer has swallowed a two-foot sword over 3000 times without incident.
He said: “I’m raising funds to help my friend and fellow performer The Mighty Gareth recover from a serious injury he suffered whilst performing his famous sword swallowing act.
“Gareth is a highly experienced festival, circus and street performer. He can be seen annually on the big circus stage at Glastonbury Festival and at the Edinburgh Fringe Street Festival.
“He has swallowed a sword over 3000 times but last week it went tragically wrong and nearly killed him. He suffered an internal injury and severe internal bleeding.
“He spent a whole week in hospital and has now been released home but is looking at a slow recovery. Doctors have said he is no longer going to be able to perform his signature act the sword swallow.”
The freak accident has also left other members of the street performing community in shock, with other close friends warning that accidents can happen even to the 'most seasoned pros'.
In a post on social media, Kate Mior said: “My very dear friend Gareth Williams had an accident while performing his 30-year-old sword swallowing routine.
“For those of you out there who think it isn’t real, I can assure you the danger is very real and it can happen to even the most seasoned pros. Thankfully, he is alive and on the road to recovery.
“But he will be out of commission for a while. Please donate something, Gareth is a wonderful person and a good friend. He helped me a lot when I was building my solo show.”
As well as the signature sword swallowing act, Gareth’s celebrated routine also contains magic, fire eating and whip cracking.
He often enlists members of the public to help with the show and has been photographed juggling swords above the heads of volunteers.
The daring artist is also known to juggle chainsaws during performances and often puts on a show on the streets of his home town.
To donate, you can see GoFundMe.
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