Tony Knight killed in freak accident at French music festival

A dog trainer and comedian who called Torquay home for well over a decade has died in a tragic freak accident at a French music festival.

One-time Torquay resident Tony Knight. Picture: Supplied.

A dog trainer and comedian who lived in Torquay for 15 years has died in a tragic freak accident at a French music festival.

English-born Australian resident Tony Knight, 54, was killed last month when tree branches crushed him while he was attending the Rock & Cars Festival in Lavaur, a small town near Toulouse in the southwest of France.

Media outlet France Bleu reported that two large branches fell on a group of festival-goers, killing Mr Knight and injuring four others.

Joanne Allen, Mr Knight’s de facto sister-in-law, described the incident as “shattering.”

“He was charismatic, funny, he loves to tell jokes,” she said.

“He loved to do his comedy, he loved playing backyard cricket with his nephews.

“I don’t think many people had a bad word to say about Tony.”

Mr Knight moved to the Geelong region in the mid-2000s after meeting his “soulmate”, Hayley Wright, in Melbourne.

“They’ve been in a relationship for 15 years,” Ms Allen said.

“They spent time going back and forth between Torquay and France, chasing the summer.”

Ms Allen, who lives in Geelong, said Mr Knight loved Torquay.

“He was always at the beach,” she said.

Tony Knight was passionate about his comedy.

Tony Knight and partner Hayley Wright.

“If there’s a beach, he’s there.

“He did some comedy in Torquay, and he was pretty well known in the local dog community down there.”

Mr Knight was known in the region for his dog behavioural expertise and his passion for stand up comedy, combining his two passions for his “Mad Dogs and an Englishman” show, which he performed across Australia.

Born in Wimbledon, Mr Knight was the son of well known English dog trainer Jan Fennell, who goes by the nickname of “the dog listener.”

Mr Knight recently finished paying off a home in Bouillac in the south of France.

He and Ms Wright also moved to a farm in Beaufort during the pandemic to care for her sick father.

Ms Allen has set up a GoFundMe account to assist with covering expenses for Mr Knight’s funeral, medical bills, and ongoing costs of sorting his estate.

Launched this week, it has so far raised almost $5000.

Originally published as Tony Knight killed in freak accident at French music festival