Ken hopes to nail a charity attempt just by lying around (From Croydon Guardian)

Ken hopes to nail a charity attempt just by lying around

11:59am Thursday 20th April 2006 in

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Some run marathons for charity. Others jump out of aeroplanes. However, 69-year-old Ken Owen has hit on a novel way to raise money for Mayday Hospital by lying on a bed of nails.

The pensioner wants to give something back to the hospital after doctors saved his life when he was treated for a lung infection last month.

The native Welshman, who is living in Langdale Road, Thornton Heath, is proposing to attempt a dangerous feat known as the Iron Maiden being sandwiched between two beds of nails while people stand on top.

He said: "I'm grateful to be alive. I nearly died in Mayday Hospital last month so I want to do something for them by doing what I do best lying on a bed of nails."

Ken says he set a world record in 1986 when he lay on a bed of nails for 300 hours. The Guinness World Records has since abolished the category because it is considered too dangerous, according to Ken.

The martial arts expert also has the honour of bearing the 46-stone weight of the late British wrestler Giant Haystacks, who sat on top of Ken as he lay on a bed of nails during a television appearance 12 years ago.

Ken, who is a pastor at a church in south London, says he has been lying on a bed of nails since he was 14 and claims his training in martial arts helps him overcome any pain.

He added: "It's mind over matter really. I keep a bed of nails at my home in Wales and I practise whenever I can. The martial arts keep me in shape too.

"It doesn't hurt, it's all about your state of mind and using techniques I've learned in martial arts helps me do this. For some reason I've always had a natural aptitude for lying on a bed on nails. I must have tough skin."

Ken is planning to bring his bed of nails to Thornton Heath and hopes to complete the challenge at the end of the month.

He is currently looking for a venue to hold the event in.