Man stabbed in head with sword as battle re-enactment goes wrong
The 37-year-old was wearing body armour, but was stabbed through his visor.
He was taken to the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton in a serious condition following the incident, which took place at Bodiam Castle, near Robertsbridge in East Sussex, on Sunday.
'Police are appealing for witnesses after a man was injured during a living history demonstration at Bodiam Castle on Sunday afternoon (June 29),' a Sussex Police spokesman said.
'A 37-year-old man, from Horsham, was wearing body armour when his opponent re-enactor's sword entered his visor during a combat re-enactment just before 3pm.
'He suffered a head injury and he is currently in a serious condition at the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton.'
Detective Inspector Barry Chandler said: 'A man was unfortunately injured during the combat re-enactment.
'We are treating the incident as an accident and we are offering support to his family. His opponent, a 36-year-old man also from Horsham, and the organisers are helping us with our inquiries.
'We know the re-enactment had drawn a large crowd and understand that anyone who witnessed the scene could have found this distressing.
'We are appealing to anyone who has photographs or videos of the interaction that led to the injury to contact us so we can gain a clear understanding of what happened.'
Bodiam Castle, a National Trust property, is a 14th-century moated castle with a ruined interior. It has spiral staircases, battlements and a portcullis.
It was built around 1385 by Sir Edward Dallingridge and his wife Elizabeth, according to the National Trust website.
'Our thoughts and concerns are with the injured man, his family and friends,' a National Trust spokeswoman said.
'The safety and wellbeing of everyone on site is extremely important to us, and we are co-operating fully with the relevant authorities. As this is a police matter, we are unable to comment further.'
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Burning the midnight oil as he scrutinised the next day's newspaper for defamation and contempt gave Stephen Bacon a thriving career in media law. Much of it was spent with Express Newspapers, including the Daily and Sunday Express titles and the Daily Star whose editors were renowned for pushing the legal limits. From time to time he appeared in court apologising for the misdemeanours of his client paper and disclosing a financial settlement to the judge. In 1989 the cricketer Ian Botham heard Bacon withdraw the Daily Star's libellous claim that he had been involved in a pub brawl, while in 2007 Danielle Lloyd, a former Miss Great Britain, donated her damages to charity after he apologised for allegations that she had been intimate with a nightclub DJ. On one occasion he apologised to Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman after what started as a laudatory newspaper feature was mistakenly leavened by the inclusion of unsubstantiated rumours. 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Again it fell to him to clear up the mess, draft an apology and negotiate a financial settlement. 'Forcibly retired', as he put it, in 2011, he took locum work at The Times, Sunday Times and The Sun. Despite living for many years in Kent, he retained a taste for northern cuisine, including pork pies and chips fried in beef dripping. He was a fine cook, often threatening to enter MasterChef, and had a wide range of interests including steam and model railways, horse racing at Sandown and following the fortunes of Lancashire county cricket club. After more than 50 years spent offering advice to editors and journalists, Bacon was well placed to observe how media law has developed, especially in relation to privacy. 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