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THIS is the horrifying moment a bull unleashes an attack on a helpless festival-goer in Spain.

Shocking footage shows the raging 1,500kg beast chasing down the man before impaling him with its horns and tossing him like a ragdoll.

The moment the bull impales the man and tosses him across the square
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The moment the bull impales the man and tosses him across the squareCredit: Newsflash
The bull attacked the man for almost 25 seconds as onlookers desperately tried to save him
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The bull attacked the man for almost 25 seconds as onlookers desperately tried to save himCredit: Newsflash
The man was pulled away to safety as the bull watched on
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The man was pulled away to safety as the bull watched onCredit: Newsflash

Hundreds of onlookers can be seen fleeing the scene as others bravely try to distract the bull into leaving the downed man alone.

The brutal attack lasts for almost 25 seconds before the victim is dragged to safety.

The chaos unfolded as part of a bizarre annual festival in Tordesillas, Valladolid province, where locals let a bull run through the town.

Footage from this years event on September 17, shows a number of would-be matadors trying to play hide and seek with the animal in a square.

read more On bull attacks

The teasing of the ferocious bull quickly led to the attack.

The victim can be seen hiding behind a stone column as the bull tries to catch him with its horns.

Moments after escaping around the side of the structure, the local waiter slips on the grass before being caught by the bull and carried across the square.

He is then flipped off the beast's pointed horns and thrown in the air.

The man, who now appears to be in severe pain, is then repeatedly turned over on the ground as the bull continues its terrifying attack.

Other festival-goers try to jump to the man's rescue by desperately waving jackets and makeshift red matador capes to try and draw the animal away.

Man gored in the groin at a running of the bulls event

One can even be seen grabbing at the bull's tail as another runs around with a giant pole hitting the animal to make it give in.

The bull eventually stops the mauling and stands in the middle of the square looking on at all as the victim is dragged away.

He was taken to hospital with severe puncture wounds to his stomach, reports local media.

There have been no updates on his condition since.

One other festival-goer was seriously injured in the event with another 12 facing minor injuries.

The Toro de la Pena, translated as Bull of the Virgin, is a centuries old tradition in Tordesillas with many seeing it as a chance for young men to test their courage in the face of such a beast.

Just weeks earlier, a man was gored to death during a separate bull-running festival in Spain.

Read More on The US Sun

His death, described by the local council as "an unfortunate accident", was the second to hit the El Casar region in just weeks.

Another man, 51, died at the end of August in a bull run event held in nearby Mesones when he slipped on a fence while trying to escape from the bulls.

Spain's bull running festivals

SPAIN has a long history with bulls with one of the most bizarre and dangerous traditions being bull running festivals.

Every year a huge number of events take place across towns in Spain where locals allow one or a number of the raging animals to chase them through the town.

Often locals will toy with the animals using makeshift capes and hiding in buildings after teasing the beasts.

The largest festival is Pamplona’s traditional Festival of San Fermin in northern Spain where hundreds of people arrive in red and white to survive the bulls.

Often lasting less than five minutes, the runners aim is to make it to a certain point in the town before the bull catches them.

Some use the opportunity as a showcase of their bravery as they challenge each other to get as close as possible to the beasts.

The event's origins date back to the 16th century.

It was later popularised by Ernest Hemingway after appearing in his 1926 novel The Sun Also Rises.

Many of the events have lead to a number of fatal deaths in the past as well as several injuries each year.

Animal rights activists have labelled the bull runs as “medieval cruelty” in the past as they continue to call for them to be banned.

The man was repeatedly dragged across the grass in the attack
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The man was repeatedly dragged across the grass in the attackCredit: Newsflash
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