This is the terrifying moment when chairs on an amusement ride start spinning uncontrollably, causing fairgoers to shriek in horror.

The footage shows how the chairs bumped into each other and the cables suspending them tangled around each other at the Comalcalco Fair in Tabasco State, Mexico, on 19th May.

At one point in the footage, a man can be seen being tossed off his chair and onto the structure’s hard base.

He can then be seen running away in a desperate bid to avoid being hit by another out-of-control chair.

A second piece of footage shows how the havoc started when one of the ride’s chairs collided with a metal structure while in movement.

This then caused a “pendulum effect”, affecting the other chairs.

After the ride continued uncontrollably for well over a minute, its operators managed to bring it to a stop.

A third piece of footage shows how they ran over to help the stricken fairgoers still spinning in their chairs.

First aid teams arrived on the scene following the incident but only needed to tend to minor injuries, according to local media.

After the footage was posted online, one social media user wrote: “Keep trusting those old and rusty rides as if the owners cared about maintenance.”

But Comalcalco City Council stated on 20th May that “imprudence” on the part of one of the fairgoers, and not mechanical failure, was to blame.

The city council added that the rides at the fair had been inspected by the local authorities prior to the event.

However, it also stated that the local authorities had closed the Sky Flyer ride to prevent something similar from happening again.