SYDNEY: It may be tagged the "Best Job in the World", but it almost ended in tragedy for a British man who was stung by a deadly jellyfish as he jetskied around the Australian island he is caretaking and promoting.

Only days before his idyllic job comes to an end, BEN SOUTHALL said he was stung by a irukandji, a tiny but deadly jellyfish, during a "post Christmas jetski session".

"I've avoided being boxed by a kangaroo, nibbled by a shark and bitten by a spider or a snake, but then in my final few days on Hamilton Island I fell foul of a minuscule little creature known as an irukandji," Southall wrote on his blog (http://www.islandreefjob.com/).

Southall said at first he only felt a "small bee-like sting on my forearm", but shortly after felt hot and sweaty and started suffering headaches, a tight chest and high blood pressure.

Irukandji stings can cause cardiac arrest and death.

Island doctors treated Southall and he quickly recovered after a good night's sleep.

Southall, 34, from Hertfordshire, the UK, beat more than 36,000 applicants to become caretaker of tropical islands around the Great Barrier Reef in Australia.

He was paid £74,000 (BD44,700) promoting tourism in Queensland by visiting attractions and blogging about his experiences. But his adventure ends on New Year's Eve today.

He said: "I think I've been one of the busiest people on the planet even though a lot of people think I've been sitting in a hammock doing very little."