Borat – aka Sacha Baron Cohen – has been attacked after a prank backfired.

The comedian – who created the fake sexist and racist Kazakhstan reporter Borat – approached a man in New York and said: “I like your clothes. Are nice! Please may I buying? I want have sex with it.”

The man didn’t find his comments funny and punched Cohen in the face.

Cohen cried out for help, but his pleas were ignored and he was repeatedly hit.

Fellow British actor Hugh Laurie finally rushed to Cohen’s aid, managing to push the man away and drag the comedian to his feet.

A source told Britain’s The Sun newspaper: “Sacha couldn’t resist playing the fool as Borat, but he picked the wrong person. I guess this guy thought he was being attacked by someone unstable and lashed out. Sacha is very lucky he didn’t get a much worse beating.”

The incident happened after Cohen and Laurie appeared on US TV show ‘Saturday Night Live’.