A father has told how he was left fighting for his life after being bitten by an adder during a walk with his family at a country park in Kent.
Minutes after being bitten on a finger by the foot-long black snake, Matthew Popov, 36, said his hand swelled to twice its normal size and he was gasping for breath.
Mr Popov, a scaffolder, had been enjoying a stroll with his wife and two children in the Riverside Country Park at Rainham on Sunday when he saw his son reach for something.
He rushed over to see what it was, noticed it was a snake and tried to pick it up and move it to the side of the path out of harm’s way. After being bitten, Mr Popov was taken in a critical condition to Medway Maritime Hospital in Gillingham where he was stabilised and given an antidote.
Mr Popov, from Frindsbury, near Strood, told the Daily Mirror: “I tried to pick the snake up but it was quicker than me and bit me on the finger. I thought it may have been an adder, but I didn’t know they could be so dangerous, or they could kill you.”
As he made his way to a visitors’ centre, his vision had gone and he was vomiting.
In a statement, Dr Alexsander Tsolov and Dr Baktiar Ali, of Medway Maritime Hospital, said: “Snake bites are rare in this country but we have to be prepared. Mr Popov was in a critical condition when he arrived and we had to work quickly to stabilise him. We gave him all the required medication and an antidote.”
A Medway Council spokesman said: “We are very pleased to hear that this man has made a full recovery. Adders – which are a protected species – are placid, retiring creatures that try to avoid human contact.
“We would advise people who are not trained to deal with snakes not to pick them up or attempt to move them. They should inform a ranger if they are concerned about anything.”