investigation is under way into the death of a snake breeder who was killed by one of his venomous reptiles.

Luke Yeomans, 47, died after being bitten at his home in Eastwood, Nottingham, on Wednesday.

The conservationist was due to open the King Cobra Sanctuary breeding colony to the public this weekend.

Nottinghamshire police said officers were called at around 2pm to a property in Brookhill Leys Road, near Eastwood, where a man had suffered a suspected heart attack and was pronounced dead at the scene. A snake had been contained and there was no danger to the public.

The RSPCA, Health and Safety Executive and Broxtowe borough council had been informed, police said."Nottinghamshire police will investigate the circumstances surrounding the death in conjunction with the appropriate agency and will liaise with the coroner's office."

The King Cobra Sanctuary, based at Brookhill Leys Farm, offers open days to allow people to see the reptiles.

Yeomans wrote on the sanctuary's website that it was "born from my lifelong love for this amazing snake species and my concerns that it could eventually disappear from the wild.

"Until mankind changes the way he treats the natural world, a living 'ark' is required for the survival of many animal species.

"The king cobra (Ophiophagus hannah), an end of the line apex predator, is certainly one of them.

"With 30 years experience of the king cobra, myself and my daughter Nicole – now in our third year of the project – will maintain a breeding colony of this large and dangerous, but also misunderstood venomous snake."

Yeomans recently told the BBC he was keeping a colony of adult and juvenile king cobras in a compound behind his house as a "safety net" to protect the species from possible extinction.

He said he started the project in 2008 in reaction to the depletion of the snake's natural habitat in forests of south-east Asia and India, and planned to breed another 100 snakes by the end of 2011.

"People do say that I am mad but I say it's better than people saying you're bad," he told the BBC. "I think everything I am doing is good."

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Prisoners Face 'Working Week' In Overhaul

The Justice Secretary has announced "tougher" community sentences and more drug recovery wings in prisons in an overhaul of the justice system.
Ken Clarke will make a statement to MPs later
Ken Clarke has outlined a number of changes, including creating a 40-hour working week in prison and a mandatory custodial sentence for those who threaten another with a knife.
Mr Clarke addressed MPs in the Commons and outlined the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishing of Offenders Bill.
Community punishments are to be extended to allow courts to impose longer curfews, enable courts to ban overseas travel and seize assets from those who do not pay.
Community service will also be overhauled "so that offenders work longer hours, carrying out purposeful, unpaid activity that benefits their local community".
And powers to take money from prisoners' earnings to support victims will be extended.
Five drug recovery wings in prisons will also be piloted as part of moves to get more offenders off drugs and alcohol "for good".
Payment-by-results schemes designed to cut reoffending will be extended, with services delivered by the voluntary, independent and public sectors.

David Cameron had already announced sentence discounts will not be offered
Six new pilot schemes will begin in areas including Greater Manchester and London next month.
A "clear national framework for the use of out-of-court disposals, reforming the use of remand, and reducing the number of foreign national offenders" will also be brought in, Mr Clarke said.
The Prime Minister announced the Government will not offer 50% sentence discounts for early guilty pleas as it sends out the "wrong message".
But questions remain over how the Ministry of Justice will reduce its budget in line with spending cuts.
The legal aid budget is expected to be cut by £350m, costing 66,200 legal representations a year.
The proposals, which will also cost 500,000 instances of legal assistance, have been met with widespread opposition, with actress Joanna Lumley adding her voice to the calls for Mr Clarke to think again.
Richard Miller, head of legal aid at the Law Society, said: "It's surprising that on a matter as important as how many people will be denied help in the future, the Ministry should make such a mistake.
"Clearly the fact that over 66,000 people who have been helped with complex legal proceedings would get no help under the Government's plans is an issue of major importance."

 

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