Angelo the clown has a lot on his plate thanks to pottery

In fact, his performance requires so many plates that the comic was stuck for stocks of china until a local pottery came to the rescue.

“It’s a traditional clown routine,” Angelo told the Yorkshire Post.

“My father and my grandfather both performed it, and I learnt it by family tradition.

“It’s set in a restaurant. I’m a waiter, and I try to play tricks with the china – throwing plates in the air, balancing them, that sort of thing.”

He added: “You can’t just use any kind of plate. These are a special shape, very light!”

Angelo says the right type of plate is very hard to find and he has given his bosses at the circus instructions on the need to find a constant supply of new crockery for his act.

Performing on Woodhouse Moor, in Leeds, the circus contacted the Yorkshire Pottery Company, who have pledged to provide a box or two of china, and also offered the promise of more whenever needed.

People have a chance to meet Portuguese clown Angelo and the other circus stars as they perform their routines under the Big Top at the Leeds venue until March 11.