Man locks head in a box as live TV stunt goes horribly wrong

He attempted to pick locks while submerged in a tank of water for his nail-biting audition.

And escapologist Matt Johnson was forced to call on paramedics for Britain's Got Talent live semi-final on Monday night according to DailyMail.

During the nail-biting act, the 43-year-old frantically struggled to free himself well surpassing his safety zone time limit before gesturing for paramedics to help.

Before his performance began the daredevil admitted there a "good chance" he could die and was putting himself through "hell on earth" to do the dangerous stunt.

After being locked in a metal straight jacket with three locks around his chest, Matt was then locked into a perspex head cage which was filled with water.

As the seconds ticked by, the escapologist looked like he was doing well as he managed to get rid of his handcuffs and started work on his straight jacket.

However, it wasn't long until the quickly reached 1.45 - the time Matt said he would be in trouble.

Paramedics could be seen entering the stage as he flailed his arms around in a desperate bid to free himself before calling for help.

Despite calling for help, Matt managed to free himself at 2 minutes 21 seconds and looked visibly shaken as he gasped for air.

Following the stunt, Amanda Holden said: "Oh my God I really hate it, I hold my breath with you for the whole thing. I basically nearly passed out myself. It's exciting to watch - you're very brave and I'm glad you're still alive."

Despite nearly facing death Matt failed to make it through to next week's live finals.

His latest act comes after he admitted that his performance for his auditions was the closest he's been to death.

In a recent interview with The Sun, the contestant revealed: "I was underwater for longer than I've ever been before and obviously there's a lot riding on it."

Clearly experienced in his craft, he continued: "I spent two years trying to learn how to hold my breath and then take that into psychological situations where I'm really panicking."

Despite risking his life with the dangerous act, Matt ironically confessed that he still has fears: "I don't enjoy the thrill of petrifying myself. I'm scared of a lot of things. I'm scared of heights, I can't go more than a couple of rungs on a ladder."

-NZ Herald