Ananova:

A South African man has broken the world record for living with deadly snakes.

'Mad' Martin Smit spent 113 days in a glass enclosure with 40 snakes, beating the 1986 record of 107 days, reports the Independent Online.

The professional snake wrangler raised £5,000 for charity through the stunt in a zoo at Hartbeespoort Dam, South Africa.

The record bid had a few hiccups along the way. Mr Smit came down with the flu and was bitten on the shoe by a puff adder.

And the whole attempt was almost called off when three gunmen stormed the park and stole more than £3,000 that had been raised for the charity earlier this month. Fortunately, insurers replaced the full amount.

Asked what he was going to do after getting out of the enclosure, Mr Smit said: "I'm going to have quite a few brandies and coke.

Mr Smit said he would never do it again. "This was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. The snakes are not the issue. You can put 1,000 snakes in here with me.

"It is these four walls that are the problem," he said. "The fact that you can go home at the end of a long day and be in your own space is something I really missed."

But Mr Smit said there would be a couple of things he would have to get used to when he was out of the enclosure.

"Things like sleeping with the lights off and opening a box of rusks and not having a black mamba stare back at me, are only a couple of things I will have to get used to," he said.