Mum oblivious to tiger snake bite, thought it was plastic

LIVING in the heart of Gatton, Rachelle Boekel never thought she'd be bitten by a snake in her own driveway.

The mother-of-five was bitten on the leg but she first thought it was a piece of plastic cutting her leg when a gust of wind blew through.

"I think if I had known it was a snake I would have had a heart attack," she said.

"That's probably what kept me so calm - not knowing." Ms Boekel was outside and the snake came from under a parked car.

"It felt like a McDonald's cup lid had hit my leg," she said.

"I ran after some rubbish, then the pain was terrible, my leg felt hot, stinging and I was in absolute agony."

Luckily for Ms Boekel she was on her way to Ipswich Hospital for her son's appointment where nurses told her it wasn't a spider bite, but a snake bite.

She stayed in hospital overnight and was given anti-venom once doctors determined it was a tiger snake.

Ms Boekel said she had now invested in a pair of long gumboots.