JUST DAYS after its specially modified Thunderdome motorcycles were stolen, Gandeys Circus has been dealt a second cruel twist of fate, when the three performers collided on their replacement bikes.
The non-road legal bikes had odd sized wheel in order to make riding inside the steel ball-shaped cages easier. Despite the circus offering a £500 reward for the return of the bikes, they had no luck and were forced to source other bike for this weekend’s performances.
After spending the day practicing on the alternative bikes,from Hunts Motorcycles in Manchester, the trio decided to go ahead with Saturday evening’s performance.
While the first two riders successfully circled around the 4m steel dome, the collision occurred when a third rider joined, sending all three crashing to the bottom of the cage.
Speaking to the Liverpool Echo, Binky Beaumont, one of the organisers of Gandey's Circus, explained: He said: "It looked like human error, it's just one of those things. There was a paramedic in the audience who came out and made himself known and he went to check her over.
"Official advice when something like this happens is to keep them still and keep them warm, so the male riders got out and that's what we did.
"She was awake, she was talking. The paramedic said she may have injured her leg but there did not appear to be any broken bones."
The female rider, Glennis Gerling, was taken to hospital where she was diagnosed with a broken ankle.
In a social media post from her hospital bed, she wrote: “I am so humbled to have received so much love and support from you all.
“Although it was our first visit to England and the city of Liverpool,, you’re kindness will stay in my heart forever.”
