Brit dad blinded by king cobra bite has now ‘completely lost use of his legs’

A dad who was blinded by a king cobra has now completely lost the use of his legs, his brother says.

Ian Jones, 49, from the Isle of Wight, almost died when he was bitten by the venomous reptile in India last year, the Mirror reports.

He suffered paralysis and blindness following the shocking incident in Jodhpur, Rajasthan, although his family hoped his condition would improve over time.

But his brother Mark revealed his condition deteriorated around a month or two ago and he is now unlikely to ever regain the use of his legs.

According to The Sun, Mark said: “He had been starting to improve, but recently – a month or two ago – things took another turn for the worse and he has lost the use of his legs completely now. It’s very grim for him.

“He told me he was deteriorating again when I last spoke to him in early May on his birthday. He’s changed his number since then and I haven’t heard from him since, but things weren’t looking good.

“Ian told me he was not likely to get the use of his legs back.”

Mr Jones, who helps poverty-stricken families in India through his charity Sabirian, was recovering from his second bout of Covid when a king cobra bit his hand and lower arm in November 2020.

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Colleagues said the snake bite “exacerbated” Mr Jones’ coronavirus symptoms.

Mike Bulpitt, who has worked with the charity boss for six years, told The Sun that Mr Jones was feeling a little unwell before the bite.

He said a king cobra’s venom can kill a human within 30 minutes if it is not treated.

Mr Bulpitt added that his colleague went in and out of a coma over two to three days after the horrifying attack.

Mr Jones’ son Seb previously said his father had already experienced malaria, dengue fever and Covid-19 but had “remained resolute in his determination to stay in the country and continue his work to help the people that needed his support”.

He said: “He had not been able to travel home due to the pandemic and as a family, we understood his desire to continue to support the many people who relied on him.

“We were naturally concerned about him though and then when we heard he had also suffered what is usually a fatal snakebite on top of all that he had been through, we honestly could not believe it.

“It really has been touch and go, he is stable at the moment although he has paralysis in his legs and blindness, both of which we hope is temporary, but it is clear he is going to need to remain in the hospital out there for some time to come.

“We are extremely grateful to his colleagues there who have been brilliant and rallied around him in his time of need, as indeed he did for them.”

A GoFundMe page set up to help pay for Mr Jones’ medical costs has raised more than £20,000.

To donate click here.