A lion has attacked and killed a circus trainer during a live show in Alexandria Egypt.

A video of the event, which was uploaded on video-sharing site LiveLeak, showed the trainer in a cage directing a lion with a stick with another climbing a ladder as children watched.

A third lion however showed up and attacked the trainer, biting him in the neck, prompting horrified screams from the audience.

Although other trainers rushed to his aid and chased the lion off by prodding it with sticks, the train reportedly succumbed to his injuries at a hospital two days later.