King Checks Wizard

The one thing entrepreneurs hate more than any other thing in the universe, is competition:

A 'living statue' artist who nearly killed a rival street performer in front of horrified tourists at the London Eye was jailed for a minimum of four-and-a-half years.

Dechko Ivanov, 37, regularly performed as the 'Invisible King' taking hundreds of pounds a week on the Southbank.

But when 'Silver Wizard' Rumen Nedelchev, 45, beat him to his choice slot beside the famous landmark Ivanov bitterly accusing him of stealing his audience.

Witnesses including an off-duty policeman watched the Bulgarians' macabre clash on a summer morning last year, which left the victim 'within a whisker' of death.

Father-of-one Ivanov used a concrete block concealed in a bag to batter his rival, who was still covered in metallic paint and holding a silver branch.

...Jurors heard the two men lived together in a shared house in Kennington, a short distance from the world-famous tourist attraction.

But tension built after Ivanov accused Mr Nedelchev of trying to beat him to the best pitch on several occasions.

The Silver Wizard was known to start work as early as 4.30am in his bid to reap the most profits.