STUNT bike engines roared as Cirque Berserk performers from across the world prepared to risk life and limb in the Globe of Death, ahead of their shows at Darlington Hippodrome.

Brazilian circus performer Lucio Zafalon sped on his motorbike inside the spherical cage, while volunteer Jonny Lancaster held his breath surrounded by exhaust smoke. Mr Lancaster stood in the centre of the sphere while performers reached speeds of 60 miles an hour. Cheers from onlookers were drowned out by the revving of the two bikes criss-crossing the metal cage.

“I wasn’t nervous at all at first, I felt calm,” said Mr Lancaster, who volunteered to take part. “I got a bit scared half way through when the bikes started going diagonally. It was an amazing experience though.”

Stunt performer Lucio has been practicing the stunt for more than 30 years and spoke of the dangers.

“The Globe of Death is high risk because a lot of people have died doing it. It can cause serious injuries. I’ve been seriously injured in the past,” he said.

“I broke all the bones on my left side which was painful. I broke them because of the position we ride in, if we crash we crash on our left side.”

The stunts were performed in celebration of the circus marking its 250th year anniversary.

Another assistant brought in to take part in the death defying stunts was 18-year-old Cameron Wallace, who volunteered to help husband and wife knife throwing duo Tony Novotny and Nikol Novotny with their performance.

Cameron had only been working as a marketing and box office apprentice for a week at Darlington Hippodrome before being chosen as the couple’s assistant.

Mrs Novotny positioned him on the knife-throwing board before her husband bombarded him with the laser cut stainless steel knives.

The knives dug into the wood leaving deep marks on the board with an outline of weapons left around the teenager’s body.

He said: “I felt extremely nervous before it but once you’re there you don’t have much time to think about anything else and before you know it it’s over.

“The knives came so close to me, but you won’t see stunts like these anywhere else other than the Hippodrome. It’s fantastic.”

The husband and wife team from the Czech Republic met in the circus and have been happily married for nine years.

Mr Novotny was taught to throw knives by his grandfather who gave him targets to throw the knives at growing up and even put himself in harm's way to teach his grandchild the art of knife throwing.

Mr Novotny said: “Cirque Berserk is different to other circuses, our performances will definitely keep the audience on the edge of their seat, it’s very exciting.”

The performers have been selected from all over the world, including Kenya, France, Portugal and Hungary and tour the globe with their captivating stunts.

Cirque Berserk will stage shows at the Darlington Hippodrome until Sunday, July 22 as part of their 40-week UK tour.

To book tickets visit www.darlingtonhippodrome.co.uk/whats-on/cirque-berserk or call the box office on 01325 405405.