A Russian man suffered severe burns after a barman set fire to his head while trying to pour a glass of flaming absinthe into his mouth.

Alexey Ponamarev, 28, had to be rushed to hospital with burns to his face after the incident in a bar in Novosibirsk, south-west Siberia, which was caught on camera by his girlfriend.

Doctors treated him for first- and second-degree burns and Mr Ponamarev is now reportedly preparing to sue the bar for half-a-million roubles (£10,300).

The footage his girlfriend Anfisa Kirillova took of the painful incident on Saturday has been handed to police.

Mr Ponamarev was taken by ambulance to a nearby burns clinic where he was treated for burns to his face and one ear, Russian site Life News reported.

The barman Albert Bykov, 34, said he had done the trick many times before without incident.

‘The situation is ambiguous,’ he said. ‘The customer asked me to pour burning absinthe. Usually we do it with sambuca, but the guest is always right so, warning him of the danger, I tried to do it.

He said Mr Ponamarev had messed up the stunt by covering his mouth.

The bar’s management said they hoped the situation could be resolved amicably.