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This is the moment a teacher cheated death in front of her pupils after being attacked by a lion when she entered its cage as a volunteer.

The animal leapt on Roxana Guevara and tossed her around like a rag doll at a circus in the Peruvian city of Cuzco.

Miraculously, she managed to get up and stagger to safety after it freed her from its jaws as the lion tamer chased it around the cage, trying to beat it with a stick.

Roxana, who had taken her pupils along to watch the show, suffered severe scratches to her neck and chest.

Speaking from her hospital bed, Roxana relived her terrifying ordeal.

Ironically, she said volunteered to demonstrate the lion wasn't aggressive

(Image: You Tube)

She added: “The lion tamer told me, ‘Don’t be afraid, we’ve done this before and it’s very docile.’

“It crushed my back when it jumped on top of me. I couldn’t do anything. It grabbed my throat with its claws. I thought I was going to die.”

The animal, called Smith, was one of three lions later taken away from the circus along with a monkey following the launch of a police investigation.

Circus bosses are said to have broken a law banning the use of wild animals which was introduced in July 2011.

Officials say they will now look for new more appropriate homes for them.