Robert Pattinson was almost squashed by an elephant on the set of his new movie.

The 'Twilight Saga' hunk - who stars alongside Reese Witherspoon in the forthcoming film 'Water for Elephants' - narrowly escaped being rolled on by a huge grey animal called Rosie, whilst trying to give her a bath.

A source said: "The Script called for the elephant to step forward while swinging her trunk from side to side, but Rosie got her signals mixed up. Instead, she sat down on her big butt, lifted her front legs - then rolled over. Before anyone could react, Robert slid right down the elephant's back. It could have been a disaster if she'd rolled over on him - but he got lucky, landing face first in a pile of dirt and mud. He was filthy, but unharmed."

Although he narrowly escaped serious injury, Robert quickly got up to the amusement of his co-stars and crew members.

The source added to National Enquirer magazine: "Everyone on the set cracked up - especially Reese, who was laughing so hard she couldn't catch her breath."

He told the group: "I'm just glad she didn't roll on top of me!"