'Never been so scared': Bodybuilder almost killed by ladybird
A British bodybuilder has had to fight for his life in hospital after being attacked by a ladybird.
Reza Rezamand from Stoke-on-Trent, England, was bitten on the arm by one of the insects after trying to flick it off.
It caused the 31-year-old's foot to swell up to twice its size and his toes turned black.
“I’ve never been scared of anything in my life. I can bench press 180kg but I was almost killed by a titchy thing like a ladybird", he told reporters.
"I am very, very lucky to be alive.
“I’ll never touch a ladybird in my life again", the 90kg muscle man told The Sun.
The six-foot-man revealed how doctors only gave him a 30 per cent chance of living after discovering he had sepsis.
Sepsis is a toxic response to an infection that can lead to multiple organ failure.
He said: “I want to tell anyone who might have suffered a similar bite to go to the doctor straight away".
It comes as the UK experiences an invasion of the multi-coloured Harlequin ladybirds.
This type of ladybird carries deadly diseases and is reportedly killing off the native red ladybird too.
Mr Rezamand has since made a full recovery.