A father has described the terrifying moment he was gored by a 600 kilo bull in Portugal.

Brian Gage, 57, of Dale View Crescent in Chingford, was on a three-week holiday with family and friends in Portugal when the attack happened.

Mr Gage had just finished a family meal in the town of Moita when he decided to step outside with three of his friends, beyond the restaurant gate.

During the annual bull event, gates and bars are installed in front of bars, clubs and restaurants to protect the public.

Two of Mr Gage’s friends crossed the street and climbed a tree to watch the event, not knowing that their friend was to become the focus of attention.

Mr Gage was standing near a gate which had been closed and suddenly realised he couldn't get back into the restaurant.

He said: “I walked towards a tree and then the bull appeared directly opposite me. As I climbed the tree a bit, the bull had gone around the tree and stuck his horn through my leg and dragged me down off the tree, at which point, I thought that was it.

“The bull pushed me along the ground and threw me up in the air. It pushed me against a wall and continued to gore me (in the stomach) from left to right and went through my scrotum.

“It gave me five broken ribs, took my arm out of its socket, and resulted in me needing over 300 stitches where it slashed me to pieces."

Local people taken part in the event tried to pull the bull off of Mr Gage by tugging its tail and banging objects on the ground.

However, Mr Gage was thrown around and dragged 200 yards, saying he didn’t feel a thing as he was in shock.

He continued: “All I could remember doing was having my hands on its horns and as you turn its head, one of its legs do down and that was when I saw my leg and thought, ‘what the hell have I gone and done there?’”

When the beast finally released Mr Gage, local people moved in and placed him on a stretcher and he was taken to a nearby ambulance.

He was then rushed to a first aid centre and a friend of his wife Jill asked a man involved where they had taken the ‘Englishman’.

She was then told he was dead.

Mr Gage was transferred from the first aid centre to intensive care in Sao Jose hospital in Lisbon, where he was put under anaesthetic for an emergency operation.

Mr Gage said the 24 hours after he left the first aid centre remain a blur to him. The next thing he remembered was waking up with a tube through his mouth.

After four days in intensive care, Mr Gage was transferred to a ward where he spent the next seven weeks.

Mr Gage praised the quick-thinking of people at the festival and the medical staff at the hospital.

He said: “Without a doubt, I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for them. The injuries to my stomach alone were enough to kill me, and there was one guy that literally carried my leg, with all the flesh hanging off, all the way to the ambulance.”

But he said getting on a plane and returning to the UK was also terrifying.

“Coming home was one of the most frightening things I’ve ever done," he continued. "I was leaving a very safe environment and having to get on an aeroplane where I can’t walk, stand or move for two and a half hours. I was getting very anxious and nervous at the reality that I was incapable of doing anything.”

Ten weeks on and Mr Gage is still bed-bound. He cannot put any pressure on his right leg as he may tear the skin graft and he is only just able to lift his left arm.

He said: “On reflection, it makes me feel how selfish I’ve been in what I’ve caused to everybody around me. The pain that (wife) Jill, my kids and friends have suffered for me wanting to go and see the bull.

“I’m lucky to be here. It has made me realise that I need to change my ways and be more grateful towards the things in life that matter." 

But Mr Gage insists he will go attend the bull running festival again, but only to thank the people that helped save his life.

He vowed to stay well away from the bull this time.