Minneapolis (USA): 

Disaster waiting to happen

Werner also photographed daredevil Spanky Spangler in a mid-air collision with another car. Both stuntmen were strapped in their cars to withstand the equivalent impact of hitting a brick wall at 120 miles per hour

There are plenty of crazy ways to risk your life driving a motorbike at top speed into a parked van, lying down while a truck drives over your stomach, and allowing yourself to be trapped and handcuffed in a spinning washing machine but while most people wouldn't entertain such foolishness, stuntmen are queueing up to sample them all.

These jaw-dropping pictures were taken by American photo-journalist Jeffrey R Werner and are featured in his new book, Incredible Stunts.

They are the results of a 30-year career spent travelling across 60 countries.

Some of the photos in the book were captured with a special Hulcher camera that shoots up to 65 frames-per-second, while other shots have been captured thanks to hours of preparation, setting up 15 remote cameras to catch all aspects of the stunt.

From a distance of just 25 feet, John Richmond shot a melon off his brother Ken's head. If John had been off his mark by a quarter of an inch, it would've meant death for his brother. Richmond claims to have shot at his brother Ken over 100 times, hitting objects off his chest, face, and the top of his head

Cleaning up his mess

In this stunt, escape artist Rick Meisel risked drowning and a battering as he worked his way out of six pairs of handcuffs and two leg irons while spinning in a suds-filled washing machine