A SWORD swallower who impaled himself with a neon tube before a live audience is set to take to the stage in Burnley.

Hannibal Hellmurto ripped a 10 centimetre hole in his oesophagus while attempting the feat at Bradford’s St George’s Hall.

He had already consumed a giant sword, curved serpent sword and three blades at once before calamity struck.

But after three weeks in intensive care - and a further fortnight in recuperation - he is ready to go back on the road with the Circus of Horrors.

The ghoulish collective have pencilled in a date at Burnley Mechanics as part of Hannibal’s comeback tour and he will appear on February 15.

A Circus of Horrors spokesman said the neon tube feat was one of the most dangerous in a sword swallower’s repertoire.

He added: “If it breaks it will leave glass inside you, it contains mercury and of course it is powered by electricity, any of which would almost certainly kill you.

“Luckily the tube did not break but it did rip a 10 centimetre hole in his oesophagus. He finished the show but was struggling to breath and was rushed to Bradford Royal Infirmary.”

Hannibal, a former German tax official, was part of the circus team which reached the semi-finals of Britain’s Got Talent.

In previous incarnations the circus has brought Moulin Rouge era Paris and a 19th-century asylum to life on the Mechanics’ stage.