British pensioner stranded in snake-infested river rescued in Thailand

A British pensioner who was stranded when his inflatable kayak started to sink on a snake-infested river in Thailand has been rescued.Martin Grant, 77, took the dinghy out on a stretch of water but was dragged away by the strong current in Udon Thani province on Sunday afternoon. The boat took on water and then became stuck in the mud, forcing Martin to cling to a small grassy moundThe retired ex-pat from Aberdeen spent more than six hours fearing for his life before rescue teams dragged him to safety at around 11 pm.Pictures from the scene show Martin with ripped shorts and covered in cuts - but still smiling following the ordeal in the unforgiving tropical climate. Police said he was 'lucky to be alive' as the area of the river is known for its large population of killer pythons.Martin said: 'I drove from my house to the bridge then walked down the banks and launched my kayak. I was paddling for two or three miles but then I was overpowered by the current. My kayak sank and I started to panic. 'Luckily there was a small island in the water that I could hold onto. I had my phone so I called for help, but I knew the battery would run out eventually I didn't have enough supplies.'Police at the local station called the tourist police and gave them the details of the incident on a river connected to the Nong Bo Khlon lake.Officers sent Police Captain Pongpat Kerkpiboonchai who arrived at the scene at 5 PM with patrol officers, a quick response team, and a translator. Officers called Martin but were still unable to trace his exact location so they requested a jet ski to scour the length of the river. They located his Mazda car then finally found his kayak at around 10 pm and used GPS aerial maps to send rescue teams to his location along the river.The brave Scot was pulled ashore but refused to go to hospital - instead asking officers for a lift home. He said: 'It was quite an adventure. I'm really grateful to everyone who helped to rescue me. I wouldn't have wanted to spend the whole night stuck there.'Police Captain Pongpat Kerkpiboonchai said Martin received basic first aid when he was pulled ashore from the river. He said: 'Everybody was relieved when he was found. There were people from different departments involved in rescuing the foreigner. It was a success.'This area of the river has lots of pythons so the man was very lucky to survive.'The river is home to pythons, cobras, monitor lizards, leeches, and swarms of ferocious mosquitoes that appear at night.