A CIRCUS trick that could have left a Blackwood father-of-three paralysed after it went horribly wrong will never be performed again, according to co-owner of Circus Zyair.

Ben Garnham, 37, from Cefn Fforest, was picked out of the crowd by Benji the clown to be lifted and spun in the air at the touring circus in Blackwood last week.

Mr Garnham’s daughter, Amber, 19, filmed the trick and captured the moment when Mr Garnham was knocked unconscious after falling awkwardly on the floor.

The footage has been viewed more than 732,000 times on Youtube and it appears in the video that three members of staff at the circus moved Mr Garnham – despite the fact he could have been paralysed.

Adam Ingham, 24, the director of the touring circus, said there were first aiders on site but the circus staff got to Mr Garnham before they did.

He said: “Lessons have been learnt and we just want to reiterate that the circus is a safe place. The act that took place, we’ll never do that again.

“For the time being, we’ve removed audience participation before we can assess doing it more safely.

“There’s a lot of stuff in consideration. It’s opened up a whole box of things that need to be addressed but we’re driving forward.

“Public safety is absolutely paramount and that’s the main thing.”

Mr Garnham was fitted with a neck brace and spent four hours in the Royal Gwent Hospital, but suffered no serious injuries.

The circus invited him to their show in Carmarthen on Friday and Mr Garnham says he now has closure after having the opportunity to meet Ben Coles, who performs Benji the Clown.

He said: “I did the [video] post originally to get it out there and highlight the practice of this circus and the others run in this way to hopefully make a change.

“I went back because I wanted to meet with the boss and to meet with Ben and it’s the first time that I had the chance to meet him.

“We’ve got closure now.”