A Dartford man flirted with death when he set his 9th Guinness World Record for the longest sword ever swallowed to the hilt.
Johnny Strange, 27, made history at the Ripley's Believe it or Not museum in Blackpool on February 27 – a day known as National Sword Swallowing Day.
The Lancashire-born trickster gulped down a 61 centimetre sword blade, over two feet long, which worked its way into his stomach.
Mr Strange said: “It’s probably the most dangerous record that I’ve ever set because I didn’t know what could’ve happened.
Johnny Strange setting his 9th Guinness World Record
“There runs an increased risk of puncturing the stomach lining.
“This is a record I have been training for, for a long time, sticking to a strict yoga routine and stretching exercises in order to push my body to its absolute limit.
“I also ate a huge plate of my grandma’s cooking before attempting the record - this increased the distance from my throat to the bottom of my stomach.”
Mr Strange is not new to performing death-defying stunts having already earned himself an impressive list of Guinness World Records.
He performed the world’s first 'sword swallow inside a Globe of Death’ while in Brussels in 2014.
Mr Strange’s interest in sword swallowing started five years ago when he first looked it up on the internet.
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