LEADER-NEWS (Melbourne, Australia) 02 October 09 Snake mowed down in Coldstream (Bryan Allchin and Shaun Turton)

A Coldstream woman turned the tables on a snake that bit her while mowing the lawn this morning - using the mower to take revenge.

Healesville paramedics were called to the property at 10.15am, where they found an elderly woman being helped by her husband.

“She had been mowing the lawn and used her hands to tear away some tall grass behind a water tank, when she felt a sudden stinging,” paramedic Darelle Barrett said.

“(She) spotted the snake and has sought revenge running it over with the mower.”

While Ms Barrett treated the injured woman, the other paramedic went out in search of the snake.

“I wrapped the wound tightly with a bandage while my partner, a true country girl, went outside, picked up and bagged the snake,” she said.

The woman was taken to Maroondah Hospital in a stable condition.

“The snake was not so lucky,” Ms Barrett said.

But Wildlife Victoria vice-president Manfred Zabinskas, who is also a licensed snake catcher, said snakes were a protected species.

“It’s not appropriate to take matter into your own hands and kill the snake,” Mr Zabinskas said.

“They are protected species I know people don’t perceive them as things we hold dearly, but snakes are a part of our environment and important part of the ecosystem.”

He said the woman should have focused on getting medical attention rather than retaliation.

“Most snake bites come from when people are tyring to kill a snake,” he said.

“There’s a high likelihood she could have been bitten again, so she’s putting herself back into a dangerous situation.

“The right thin to so seek medical attention and contact licensed snake catcher and have it removed in a safe and humane manner.”
Snake mowed down in Coldstream

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