Trainer walks away after being attacked by a circus lion mid-show

The woman had a lucky escape after one of her lions jumped on her in the middle of a circus performance in Egypt.

A terrifying video showing the moment a circus performer was attacked mid-performance by a lion has been shared widely online.

The incident - which took place in Tanta, Egypt - shows lion tamer Faten El-Helw being attacked as part of the same show in which her husband Mohammed was killed by a lion in 2004.

In the video filmed by an audience member, El-Helw can be seen waving to the audience and dancing in the cage with the lions. Suddenly, one of the lions leaps down from the platform and knocks her off her feet.

The camera pans away as the crowd panics. When the camera focuses back on the cage, El-Helw is back on her feet and walks off-stage as another trainer regains control of the lion and leads it back to its cage.

It is reported that El-Helw suffered a hairline fracture to the pelvis but is said to be back training with the animals.

The El-Helw family is well-known in Egypt for lion-taming - they have apparently been in the business for a century. It is also reported that there have been at least five attacks on the family by their own lions over the years.