Last updated at 16:18 20 August 2007

A dwarf performing at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival was rushed to hospital after he glued his penis to a vacuum cleaner.

Daniel Blackner - who performs in the Circus of Horrors as Captain Dan the Demon Dwarf - said the incident happened as he prepared for a show.

As part of the spectacle, the dwarf pulls a Henry vacuum cleaner across the show attached to his penis.

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But a special attachment connecting the 42-year-old to the appliance came loose.

He decided to fix the broken apparatus with extra strong glue, but he left it to dry for only 20 seconds, instead of 20 minutes.

This meant when he connected himself to the vacuum cleaner, the glue was not yet dry, and his penis was immediately stuck fast.

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He was taken to the accident and emergency department of Edinburgh Royal Infirmary, where, he said, nurses struggled for an hour to free him.

Mr Blackner said: "It was the most embarrassing moment of my life when I got wheeled into a packed A&E with a vacuum attached to me.

"I just wished the ground could swallow me up. Luckily, they saw me quickly so the embarrassment was short lived."

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A hospital source confirmed that they treated the performer.

But a spokesman for the Royal Infirmary said he could not comment on individual cases.