Crucifixion recreation leads to 999 call

Many shoppers thought the site 'too gruesome'

An Easter re-enactment of Jesus's crucifixion caused such concern in a south Wales town that one onlooker dialled 999 for an ambulance.

A Christian charity hired a Cardiff-based actor Gerald Tyler to play the part of Jesus in a Good Friday recreation in Porth, in the Rhondda.

Some shoppers were left in tears

The 32-year-old was smeared with fake blood and made to look as if he was nailed to the wooden cross.

The Focal Point Christian group said it aimed to remind people that there is a more serious side to Easter than chocolate eggs. A plaque beside the mock crucifixion read "look what Jesus had for Easter".

But the group is being accused of "bad taste" as many shoppers - some of whom were in tears - complained that the site in the centre of town was "too gruesome".

Christian group spokesman Ian Willis

"We've had hurls of abuse, swearing, we've had people looking disgusted, there have been children crying," said group spokesman Ian Willis.

"The reaction really is a lot like the biblical reaction when Jesus was actually crucified.

"I'm concerned that people may be upset but the fact is what they saw happened for real and that was deeply upsetting to see an innocent man die on a cross."

An ambulance arrives at the scene

One modern-day onlooker was so shocked that an ambulance was called. A 999 operator was told of a man bleeding heavily.

Others were divided as to whether the shock tactics worked. While some were "disgusted" others agreed that it showed what the Bank Holiday was all about.