Venomous snakes

A British man is hoping to break the world record for living with dangerous snakes. David Jones, 44, hopes to spend 121 days in a room with 40 of the world’s deadliest snakes. His slithery companions will include deadly adders, cobras and green and black mambas. Mr Jones starts his record attempt on April 24th in Johannesburg, South Africa. He aims to beat the current record of 113 days set by South African Martin Smit. The big difference between Smit and Jones is that Smit is an experienced snake handler. The last person to go for the record was bitten by a puff adder and nearly lost his leg. Mr Jones wants to raise money for charity. All money raised will go to a hospice in his hometown of Crawley, near London. Mr Jones told reporters he was not too scared of spending so long in a room with venomous snakes. He did admit he was concerned for a number of reasons. He is worried that “there is a very real possibility of ending up in hospital”. He is fully aware of the dangers, saying: "These are wild animals. They're unpredictable and of course they do bite, and they bite with serious consequences." Jones expressed reservations about spending such a long time away from his family: “I'm also leaving a wife, I'm leaving a son and I'm leaving my family for four and a half months.” Mr Jones explained the reasons behind his challenge: "I have always been interested in snakes and I thought now is the time to do something slightly out of the ordinary in my life.”