A journalist had a very lucky escape and the X-rays are incredible

An Australian journalist covering fighting in the Philippines, where militants reporetedly declared an allegiance to the terror group Isis earlier this year, has been hit in the neck by a stray bullet.

While documenting fighting between militants and the security forces, ABC's Adam Harvey was hit by a bullet he described "felt like a cricket ball," after he bent down to get food and water out of a car.

Hundreds of residents remain trapped in the fighting, after militants who have declared allegiance to Isis, took parts of Marawi on the island of Mindanao, last month.

He was wearing a flak jacket and a helmet in what was considered a safe zone.

I felt an almighty stabbing at the side of my neck and I went down on the ground and I thought I'd been hit by a bit of shrapnel.

Picture: REUTERS/Linus Escuador

He was taken to a medical centre and then for observation at another hospital, where they did X rays and discovered the cause was a bullet.

Luckily it missed everything important and it was just lodged behind my jaw.

Harvey was told to wear a neck brace as a precaution and later tweeted about the injury to tell everyone he is ok:

A close shave indeed.