A British pensioner was rushed to hospital after being brutally injured by a charging bull during Spain’s controversial San Fermin festival. The unnamed 86-year-old holidaymaker, from Halesowen in the West Midlands, was caught up in the carnage in Pamplona as six half-ton beasts tore through the city’s historic, narrow streets.
He was one of 11 people hospitalised on Saturday (July 18) during the penultimate day of the nine-day adrenaline-fueled event, making him the oldest victim by far. The unnamed pensioner suffered multiple injuries, including a horrific goring to his left elbow, as well as wounds to his left eyebrow and right hand. Yet, the 86-year-old wasn’t the only Brit to face the wrath of the rampaging herd.
William Mitchinson, a 24-year-old tourist, was also hospitalised after being violently trampled by a bull. Speaking outside the Navarra University Hospital with his ankle in a brace, the young Brit admitted he only joined the run after seeing it on TikTok and Instagram.
“I ran until the bull trampled me,” Mr Mitchinson said, according to Metro. “I’d seen the festival on social media, and it looked like good fun. It’s my first visit to Pamplona. I might come back another year – but only for the party.”
The chaotic run – one of eight in total – lasted just two minutes and 25 seconds, but it quickly spiralled into violence. One furious bull broke away from the herd near the town hall, charging down four runners and leaving one crashing head-first onto the ground.
Medical officials confirmed that two runners suffered severe goring wounds. Alongside the British pensioner, another daredevil was skewered in the chest near the end of the half-mile course, while a third man was gored in the thigh.
Thousands of thrill-seekers – traditionally dressed in white with red, wine-soaked bandanas – flock to Pamplona every July for the festival, which was made famous by Ernest Hemingway’s 1926 novel The Sun Also Rises.
While the fiesta pumps a staggering €100million (£85million) into the local economy – sending hotel rates skyrocketing by 400% as one million tourists arrive – it faces a furious backlash.
Animal rights groups like PETA and Spain’s AnimaNaturalis routinely storm the city to protest against what they call barbaric abuse, highlighting that every bull forced onto the streets is later publicly tortured to death in the evening bullfights.
It is also incredibly dangerous for the humans involved. Since records began, 16 people have lost their lives on the cobblestones of Pamplona. The last fatality occurred in 2009 when 27-year-old Daniel Jimeno from Madrid was tragically gored through the neck by a bull named Capuchino.
