A FIESTA that let runners chase a 300kg ball instead of bulls, ended with one reveller seriously injured after the giant sphere slammed him against a fence.
Two other festival goers in Mataelpino, near Madrid, were also hurt, one sustaining three broken ribs, as the ball careered out of control down a hill.
The most seriously injured victim suffered a clot in the head after the sickening collision.
The fiesta in the town of 1,700 has used a ball instead of bulls for seven years, but this year approval was given to increase the ball weight from 100 to 300kg.