Pensioner, 86, is one of two Brits gored by bull at Spanish festival

By OLIVIA DAY, ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR, AUSTRALIA Published: 01:23, 20 July 2026 | Updated: 01:23, 20 July 2026 A British pensioner became the oldest participant injured at this year's San Fermin festival after he was gored by a bull and rushed to hospital. The 86-year-old tourist, from Halesowen in the West Midlands, was one of 10 people injured during the final day of the festival on July 14.  The holidaymaker suffered multiple injuries, including a goring to his left elbow and wounds to his eyebrow and right hand. William Mitchinson, 24, was the second Brit to be hospitalised after being knocked to the ground while trying to outrun the six bulls and accompanying steers.  He spoke outside Navarra University Hospital after leaving with his ankle in a brace.  'I ran until the bull trampled me,' Mr Mitchinson said.  '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.' Officials confirmed two other runners had suffered goring wounds during the run, which lasted two minutes and 25 seconds.  Revellers are pictured trying to outrun the bulls during a run on July 11 One runner was gored in the face at Spain's San Fermin festival on July 11 A medical team treats an injured reveler after the fifth running of the bulls on July 11 A black bull broke away from the pack and plowed into a group of people World Cup celebrations are seenon the final day of the San Fermin festival on July 14 One was horned in the chest, while another man was gored in the thigh. One of the steers broke away from the pack and charged a group of four men, with one appearing to smash his head on the ground as he fell.  The run on July 14 marked the eighth consecutive morning that revellers had packed the narrow street course in Pamplona, northern Spain. Dramatic images from a run three days earlier showed runners sprinting through the narrow streets as they were chased by six charging bulls. Other photographs capture runners lying on the cobbles desperately trying to shield themselves as bulls thunder past, with one man curling into a ball. Another image shows a runner punching the air as he races ahead of the animals' horns, while another clings to a friend's shoulder as a bull bears down behind.  A further photograph shows an injured runner being carried away on a stretcher as fellow participants look on. During the earlier run, one runner was gored in the face while 12 people required medical treatment. The six bulls and accompanying steers charged through crowds of thrill-seekers Red Cross volunteers tend to the injured during the fifth bull run of the festival The most recent death was in 2009 when 27-year-old Daniel Jimeno, from Madrid, was gored in the neck by a bull called Capuchino. Gorings and broken bones are common, partly due to the large number of novice bull runners and foreign tourists who join the experienced locals. Thousands of people from around the world attend the week-long festival every year to take part in the famous encierros, in which the bulls are released at 8am to charge from their corral to the bullring along an 850-metre route through the city's old town. Runners attempt to stay as close to the animals as possible without falling or being gored. Sixteen people have been killed during the bull runs at the annual festival. Several foreigners, from Australians to Americans through to Brits and Irish, are normally among the injured. Brits typically make up around four per cent of the international participants. Alongside the daily bull runs, it features parades, music, religious ceremonies and round-the-clock street festivities.  This year's festival came 100 years after the publication of Ernest Hemingway's novel The Sun Also Rises, which helped bring San Fermin to international fame.