A BLACKWOOD father-of-three says he’s lucky to be alive after a clown’s circus trick went horribly wrong.

Ben Garnham, 37, from Cefn Fforest, made his first ever trip to the circus with his daughters Jade, 22, and Amber, 19, on Monday night.

The self-employed DJ was picked out of the crowd by the clown, Ben Coles, to be lifted and spun in the air at the touring Circus Zyair in Blackwood – despite not signing a disclaimer.

Mr Garnham said the clown asked him to push his hands against his legs as part of the complex move to hoist him into the air.

However, in front of dozens of on looking children, the trick went wrong and Mr Garnham was knocked unconscious after landing awkwardly on the floor.

He said: “From what I remember, he didn’t explain what he was actually going to do. He said, 'Push against the back of my legs’ and that was the last thing I really remember.

“I just thought he was going to pretend to do something but not actually do it to get a laugh. I thought he was just going to squirt me with water or something.

“It looked more like a wrestling move”

Mr Garnham’s excited daughter, Amber, filmed the trick – not realising what was about to happen. To the crowd’s horror, as they stopped clapping, the clown signalled for help.

In the video, it appears that three members of staff at the circus rushed over and moved Mr Garnham - despite the fact that he could have been paralysed.

Mr Garnham said there were no paramedics on site and an ambulance had to be called after trained first aiders from the crowd came to his assistance.

He said: “I was unconscious right until they put me behind the curtain. They lifted me out and I was manhandled - they could’ve paralysed me for life.

“I wouldn’t have seen the funny side if I was paralysed from the neck down or if I was dead.”

Mr Garnham was fitted with a neck brace and spent four hours in the Royal Gwent Hospital but aside from a small cut to the back of his head, swelling on the left side of his face and a pounding headache, he suffered no serious injuries.

The circus and the clown, Mr Coles, have since been in touch and have offered Mr Garnham a full refund and complimentary tickets for his family to see the touring show in Carmarthen on Saturday.

He says he does not blame the clown for what happened and just wants to raise awareness for the need for paramedics on site.

He said: “When I watched the video back the first time, it was like Macaulay Culkin when he first puts on the aftershave in Home Alone. I just thought, ‘Oh my God’. The fact it happened, it was just such a shock.

“I’m so lucky. I could’ve died or been paralysed.”

The circus has been contacted for a comment.