Cheat row as Blaine hanging stunt ends

Londoners tired of David Blaine a long time ago, showing their displeasure by pelting him in his transparent box besides the Thames with eggs and kebabs.

Finally New Yorkers have caught up and caught on. They are crying foul - and much worse - over the illusionist's latest stunt, in which he promised to hang upside down for 60 hours above an ice rink in Central Park.

After three days of dangling by his feet, Blaine brought his mid-air suspension to an end today with a "dive of death", plunging more than 40 feet to the ground and then disappearing from sight. He may wish to never reappear. For he is being accused of misleading the public.

Far from being suspended non-stop for 60 hours - a feat frankly impossible - Blaine, as onlookers discovered, took a five to 10 minute break every hour, standing upright on a cherry picker.

It prompted the New York Daily News to declare "Give us a break" while several observers and bloggers labelled the 35-year-old magician a "cheat". Before being hoisted above the ground, he had told reporters he intended to drink through a straw and urinate through a catheter.

But when it came to the reality, Blaine took frequent breaks, using them to drink water and relieve himself. "I'm not going to pee all over myself to satisfy those people," he said in the hours leading up to the finalé. His spokesman, Pat Smith, said: "There has been no claim that David was going to hang upside down for 60 hours without a break."