Fans watched in horror as matador Jose Tomas was skewered by one of the giant animal's 12 inch-long horns.

But the 32-year-old, who was today recovering following surgery, was lucky as the horn missed his gullet and voice box by millimetres.

Tossed: The bull flips over Jose Tomas in the fight in Jerez, Spain

The incident happened in Jerez, the Spanish town famed for producing sherry at the annual horse fair on Saturday.

And rather than go straight to hospital the fighter insisted on killing the animal and cutting off its ear as a trophy.

Skewered: The bull gores the matador as he crashes to the ground

Dr Julio Mendoza said today: “The accident could have had terrible consequences as the esophagus, the trachea or the larynx could have been severed.