A KITE surfer from Bradford had his dream holiday to Zanzibar became a nightmare when he was bitten by a centipede.

And upon his return to England, John Hickey, 42, of Greengates, ran into difficulty receiving treatment due to Covid-19 precautions.

"I was bitten by a centipede in the foot," said Mr Hickey. "It came from under the sand in a restaurant.

"The local people in Zanzibar said that it was a very dangerous centipede."

While John said that the wound was very painful, he managed to get out to do a little sightseeing and kite surfing.

But then three weeks later, Mr Hickey banged his leg, which created an open wound.

Combined with the centipede bite, an infection developed in his leg.

Mr Hickey said: "I woke up the next morning and my leg was twice its normal size.

"I had to go to hospital in Zanzibar to have it cut open so they could drain all the puss out.

"The doctor in Africa said if I would have to come to them a day later, then it could have infected the bone which meant they could have had to amputate my leg."

Mr Hickey, who went to Zanzibar on Boxing Day to kite surf during a five-week dream holiday, said: "I only managed three days of kite surfing the whole holiday. Nothing seemed to heal properly there

"It's bad luck because I get home to my country and I would have expected to be treated."

Upon returning to Bradford last Thursday, Mr Hickey decided to go to Bradford Royal Infirmary the next day.

But his sister Stacy Hickey, also of Bradford, described her brother's experience at the hospital.

Although he tested negative for Covid 72 hours prior to returning, she said: "He was stuck in an isolated room. After five hours and another negative test, the hospital told him they could not see to him, sent him home and told him to isolate for 14 days. They gave him dressings to do it himself."

"My wound is the same as it was in Africa," said Mr Hickey. "To be honest, it's an open wound. I just have bandages. I don't have any solution to clean it. It's painful and it's still not healed."

Mrs Hickey, added: "He was close to having his leg cut off and he can barely walk now.

"It's just appalling at how he's been treated," she said. "I know we're in a pandemic, but he had a negative test for Covid before flying and one at the hospital. Covid may not kill him but this could."

A spokesperson for Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust said: “If someone was self-isolating after travel to a high risk country and had an acute medical condition needing urgent treatment, we would treat them in the most appropriate way.

“If this involved being admitted to hospital we would isolate the patient in a side room. If not admitted, then we would minimise travel to and from the hospital and offer advice on self-care and when to re-attend if problems persisted or deteriorated.

“We have not received a complaint about such circumstances, but would look into any concerns raised if we did.”