This was the moment a parkour stuntman was seriously injured attempting a daring backflip off a metal pole.

Simon Brunner, 27, suffered a deep leg gash and bruised ribs after he fell while attempting to climb the narrow metal pole in Lake Como in Italy.

He wanted to film a backflip for social media.

But as he launched into it, he slipped on the landing and slammed his shins and chest into the pole before plunging into the icy water.

Simon, a content creator from Traunstein, Germany, said: "I was in shock. "

"I couldn't feel the pain yet, but I knew it was bad. "

"I hit my shins, then my torso and fell into the lake. "

"I knew straight away something was wrong."

Simon had been filming sponsored stunt videos when the original location was shut down by locals.

While scouting for a new spot, he spotted the pole near a pier and decided to attempt the risky trick.

On his first try, Simon landed on his toes and lost balance, falling backwards into the water.

But it was the second attempt, with wet shoes and worsening conditions, that left him seriously injured.

The fall caused a gash "the length of his whole hand" up his shin, which began bleeding heavily. "

Simon said: "I landed the same way as my first time but this time I slipped off instantly. "

"I swam to the shore, looked down and thought ‘Oh sh*t'. "

"Everything turned white and then blood started pouring out of my shin."

"I just kept thinking ‘I need to get out of here before I pass out."

Paramedics arrived around 20 minutes later and rushed Simon to hospital, where he was treated for the deep leg wound and a bone bruise on his ribs.

Simon said: "It was December, freezing cold, and I was soaking wet."

"By the time the ambulance arrived, I was nearly frozen. "

"They wrapped me in one of those foil survival blankets and rushed me to hospital."

Simon needed stitches for the gash and endured months of pain from the rib injury.

He said: "The adrenaline masked the pain at first."

"But later that night, my ribs were killing me. "

"It hurt every time I laughed — and it took nearly eight months to fully heal."