Fork Off! Magician thrown out of Lichfield bar for doing tricks

Jun 19 2011 by Anuji Varma, Sunday Mercury

A MAGICIAN was thrown out of a Midland bar and quizzed by police – for bending a fork!

Paul Fisher, who goes by the stage name Paul Saint, was given his marching orders by a burly doorman after performing the trick for friends at Après bar in Lichfield.

“I tried to tell the bouncer that the forks were my own, but he wouldn’t listen,” said Paul, 35, by day a driving instructor from Pelsall, West Midlands.

“I always take a few props out with me and perform for friends. I’ve never had this reaction before.”

Moments after being turfed out, he claims a police van raced to a halt beside him and he was told to get inside in connection with the incident.

“It was completely over the top,” said Paul, who has been a part-time magician for 10 years and performs at corporate events. “I was only having an innocent drink with a few friends.

“I was told to get out and the police were called. I wasn’t given any sort of explanation or told to put the forks away.

“The police vehicle came screaming up the street and an officer jumped out.

“He said he’d had a complaint about me bending up some forks. I told him they were my own forks and was about to get some out of my pocket when he told me to get in the van.”

Paul, who added that he was completely sober at the time, was driven back to Après and made to wait in the van while the officer spoke to the doorman.

“He spoke to the bouncer, having a laugh and joke, and then did a background check, which came back all-clear,” he said.