Willenhall bull runner John Bennett tells of terrifying ordeal

John Bennett, from Short Heath, Willenhall, was the first casualty of the festival in Pamplona which has claimed the lives of 15 people in the past. He was dragged from underneath a pile of people by a paramedic and taken away by stretcher for hospital treatment on Sunday.

The 44-year-old is now back at home. He said: "I was under so many people and they were crying and screaming and I knew I had to out of there."

Mr Bennett travelled to the northern city of Pamplona for the controversial Running of The Bull festival last week.

The annual event involves hundreds of participants running 900 yards through the city's narrow streets away from raging bulls, which are set free from a holding pen.

They race to the city's bullring, chasing the thrillseekers as they go.

Mr Bennett's close friend Mark Oakley convinced him to take part this year after joining in the Spanish tradition himself around 10 times.

He was honouring a promise after missing out on Mr Oakley's stag-do in Pamplona back in 2000, and went along with Richard Bourgaize, Martin Stevens, Paul Andrews all from Sedgley.

But as the event unfolded on Sunday, Mr Bennett, aged 44, was caught up in a stampede of people.

The gas worker said he had been assured by his friend that their position near the bull ring arena was the safest place.

But when a bull suddenly turned and ran in their direction John had to be dragged from underneath a pile of bodies by a paramedic and taken away by stretcher for hospital treatment.

Amazingly the father-of-one was discharged from hospital on the same day and is now back in his Willenhall home recovering from swelling to his arms and knees.

He said: "The plan was to wait for the last bull to run into the arena and then we run in after it, but this didn't happen.

"A bull came round the corner stopped and turned towards me and Mark. We both fell and I saw him get up but I couldn't. There were too many people on top of me. There was so much pressure on my legs and my first thoughts were there was a bull on top of us all.

"I was under so many people and they were crying and screaming and I knew I had to out of there. I had one arm free and this paramedic on the side managed to drag me out to the side.

"With pure adrenaline I climbed over the fence and it was then the pain set in and I knew something was up.

"The doctor said to me in broken English I needed to go to the hospital and get an X-ray. When I called my partner Michelle she was going mad at me she was saying to me 'you promised you wouldn't run' – I was in a lot trouble."

His friend Mark, 43, described the moment he realised his friend was injured: "I ran into the arena and just presumed he was behind me.

"I looked around and I couldn't see him and on the big screen in the stadium they were showing replays of the run.

"I saw John fall and I did laugh to myself then I saw someone being stretchered away and realised it was John and the first thing that came into my head was: 'Oh my God, Michelle is going to kill me'. I'd promised her before we left I'd look after John and I was worrying when he wasn't picking up his phone. I was relieved when he turned up at the camp-site all bandaged up."

While John was coy on the idea of a return to the fiesta next year Mark, understandably, was more open minded, he added: "I've been about 10 times and it's one of those places that when you go as it gets in your blood and you want to go again and again.

"I'm looking at going back next year. I don't know if John will. He's under lockdown at the moment and my name is like mud around there at the moment. Saying that I do have a year to work on him so you never know. Other than him ended up in hospital we had a great time."

Video footage of the Pamplona bull run by Mark Oakley