A PROFESSIONAL magician from Old Hall has performed some of his tricks for Ukrainian children in a performance that will ‘stay with him forever’.

Peter Turner, 62, has been a professional magician for the past 25 years after giving up his job to pursue his hobby full time.

“I left school with an education and ran my own business, and magic became a bit of a sideline,” he said.

“But before I knew it, I was doing one performance a week, then two a week – and after about six or seven years my sideline was earning more money that my daytime job.

“So, I took the plunge thinking I had nothing to lose, and I’ve never looked back.”

Peter, who lives in Old Hall, flew to Prague last month and, while there, arranged to visit a school that was set up by a friend of Peter’s, called Oli Mclain.

The school, called Nadaĉni Fond School of Friends, was set to for Ukrainian children displaced by the ongoing war with Russia.

“I thought ‘wow this woman has brought a lot of joy to these kids’ and when I went around the school, I saw photographs of how they saw the war, which really touched me,” said Peter.

While there, Peter suggested that he could perform some magic for the children, which Oli and her husband, Rex, agreed to enthusiastically.

Peter was left 'shell shocked' by the performancePeter was left 'shell shocked' by the performance (Image: Supplied)

Peter performed to four different classes, each with children of different ages in a performance that deeply touched him.

“For the first time in my magic, I got quite emotional with it because these children have never seen anything like that before, and for me to perform my art and bring smiles and joy to those kids – it hit me to be honest, I walked out of that school quite shell shocked,” he said.

“I’ve worked on cruise ships and big venues with superstars and celebrities, and I’ve walked out unscathed, but when I did this one it took my breath away.

“It brought a tear to my eye to be honest with you because they’ve suffered the way and lost their parents and this woman has got these children to school to give them a life, so for me to bring a little bit of joy to them, it touched me really.

“It just puts life into perspective.”