When a man arrived at a hospital in India complaining of a stomach ache , doctors suspected it might be a run-of-the-mill case of food poisoning or an ulcer . However they were amazed to find the man had actually swallowed hundreds of coins and nails . Over a three year period Rajpal Singh , 34 , had swallowed 140 coins , 150 nails and a handful of nuts , bolts and batteries . He had also gulped down screws , nails and magnets . Rajpal Singh , 34 , had hundreds of coins and other objects removed from his stomach after complaining of an ache . The image shows an X-ray with the mass of metal objects shown in white in his stomach . Doctors were amazed when an endoscopy ( a long thin tube with a camera attached ) revealed hundreds of foreign objects inside Mr Singh 's stomach . The endoscopy is pictured . Over a three year period , Mr Singh had swallowed , 140 coins , 150 nails and nuts and bolts , batteries and magnets . Some of the objects removed are pictured . When doctors carried out an endoscopy – inserting a long , thin , tube with a camera attached to the end – it revealed the hundreds of foreign objects in his stomach . Mr Singh , a farmer from Bathinda in India 's western state of Punjab , said his bizarre habit began after he fell into a depression , and eating metal objects brought him comfort . He said : ' I used to gulp down coins and metals with fruit juice or milk . 'Due to family problems I had slipped into depression and got hooked onto this weird habit . 'Doctors have told me those sharp objects would have punctured my intestine and I would have eventually died . ' I feel much more relaxed now . I am never going to do this again . ' Mr Singh claims he did n't realise his stomach pain was due to his habit of eating metal objects . Doctors have carried out 240 endoscopy procedures to remove the objects , as well as a nine-hour operation . But Mr Singh will still need another procedure to remove the rest of the metal . Pictured are X-rays of Mr Singh 's stomach , revealing the mass of foreign objects . Mr Singh said : 'Doctors have told me those sharp objects would have punctured my intestine and I would have eventually died ' Dr Gagendeep Goyal ( pictured centre in blue ) led a team of five doctors who carried out the operation to remove the objects from Mr Singh 's abdomen . He went to many medical centres in Punjab complaining of a painful ache in his abdomen , but no doctors could diagnose the problem . Finally , Dr Gagandeep Goyal , a gastroentologist at a local hospital , carried out an X-ray and revealed the mass of metal deep in Mr Singh 's stomach . He has since carried out more than 240 endoscopy procedures to remove the objects - yet some still remain . Leading a team of five doctors , he also carried out a nine hour operation to remove more of the metal , yet Mr Singh will still need another operation to remove the rest . Dr Goyal said : 'The patient came to us with severe stomach pain . When we did the endoscopy we were shocked to see so many foreign bodies , including coins and sharp objects in his stomach . 'Though we have managed to remove most of them , there are still sharp injects and coins in his stomach . 'His body is too fragile to sustain another operation now so we plan to operate again in about seven days and remove the remaining objects . ' Mr Singh says he feels calmer now and will not swallow metal objects again . Pictured are some coins removed from his stomach .
Rajpal Singh , 34 , had become depressed and began eating metal objects . Over three years he swallowed around 140 coins , 150 nails and more . Says he did n't realise this habit could be the cause of his stomach aches . Has undergone 240 procedures to remove objects - but some still remain .