Bale escapes Batman-helicopter collision

'Batman' star Christian Bale narrowly avoided a grisly death on the set of the new superhero movie, when a plunging helicopter missed him by just metres.

The actor did not realise how close he had come to being decapitated on location at Chicago's Sears Tower - America's tallest building - until he noticed the shocked expressions on the faces of crewmembers.

He tells Details magazine: "I've been in situations where things could have gone very wrong. I saw a number of very anxious faces on the Dark Knight when a helicopter came incredibly close to me.

"I was standing on the corner of the Sears Tower, on the outside 110 stories up. I felt quite oblivious to it. I was looking at the face of the pilot and just hanging there, not fully aware that the blades were actually just feet away from my head."