AN asphyxiation trick during magician Derren Brown's new West End show caused two members of the audience to faint.

The act was brought to a temporary standstill at the Cambridge Theatre as members of St John Ambulance carried the casualties out of the auditorium.

One observer said the extreme reaction was caused by a controversial stunt during the preview performance of Brown's Something Wicked This Way Comes show.

It saw him pretending to be strangled and seemingly unable to breathe - a trick that some theatregoers believed had gone wrong.

"A couple of people just passed right out - and most of the others had their heads in their hands," said one theatregoer, adding: "It's painful to watch." Brown is renowned for his "extreme" magic. One television stunt saw him playing a live game of Russian roulette.

Brown said today: "I don't want to overdramatise it but if people are very squeamish there are going to be things that are difficult to take.

"Quite a lot of people just get up and walk out, which is a double-edged thing for me.

"Secretly I'm delighted to get a reaction but obviously I don't want my audience to leave."

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