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THE SUN (London, UK) 23 August 10 Snake man makes hisstory
A brave Brit has set a new world record after spending 114 days living in a tiny room with 40 dangerous snakes.
David Jones has spent four months locked in a 5m x 4m sealed room with two black mambas, two green mambas, three snouted cobras, seven bloomsang and 27 puff adders.
He has lived, slept and eaten in the deadly enclosure since May and surpassed the current 113 day world record today.
He plans to leave the enclosure next week.
The 45-year-old professional carpenter from Sussex said: "At 3pm today, I'll be at 114 days which is a new world record.
"Having the record will be a huge achievement, it's something I've wanted to do for a long, long time.
"It's not sinking in that I am almost there yet and I am just trying to stay calm - and alive.
"It's just taught me so much about snakes and I have even more respect for them than before."
His four month adventure has made David the only European, non-snake handler to hold the world record for living continuously with dangerous snakes.
Previous record holder, South African Natie Swart, was bitten three times, twice by puff adders and once by a snouted cobra in 2009.
He survived but was left with permanent damage to his leg.
David said: "I haven't been bitten yet but I have had a couple of close shaves.
"I was mistaken for dinner by a black mamba, who was sat in my lap, I looked down and saw she was ready to strike.
"So I just moved her very slowly, and very calmly, if I screamed and shouted, I'd have been bitten."
David has had a life long love affair with snakes, ever since he kept them as a boy.
His four-year-old son Toby looks set to follow in his dad's footsteps and is already begging for a snake of his own, while wife Jane, 45, thinks her husband is mad.
But he said: "She is still talking to me.
"Toby thinks it's cool, and I'm missing them lots."
His only human company comes from the groups of visitors who come to the glass sided room at Chameleon Village Reptile Conservation Park in Johannesburg, South Africa, to peer in on the attempt and ask David questions.
He said: "The usual questions are: 'why?' and 'are you crazy?'
"But I really want to show them that snakes aren't vicious, that you can live with them.
"I already loved snakes, but I have even more admiration for them now.
"He even manages to forgive them when he finds them sitting on his toilet, in the middle of the night.
"I just use a hook and gently lift them off. But it can be a bit surprising to find a Cobra on the loo."
The unlikely housemates even watch telly together.
Naturally David is looking forward to some creature comforts when he finally leaves the house.
He added: "Its great to beat the record today, but I didn't just want to beat it by a day and so I have always planned to be here for 121 days.
"I'm dying for a proper drink."
Snake man makes hisstory

THE ARGUS (Brighton, UK) 20 September 10 Crawley man fails snake record bid (James Wallin)
A daredevil who spent four months locked in a room full of deadly snakes has been told he did not break a world record because he didn’t share a bath with the creatures.
David Jones thought he had become a record breaker after 121 days cooped up in room packed with 40 snakes, including poisonous black mambas.
But the 45-year-old was stunned to learn that Guinness World Records had rejected his bid because it only accepts attempts for “most rattlesnakes, bathtub sitting.”
Mr Jones, from Burns Road, Crawley, said he was "gutted" at the decision.
Crawley man fails snake record bid