Four year old bitten by snake in back yard shed

Saige Hardie was bitten when he entered the shed in his back yard at Alexandra Hills around 3.20pm.

Saige's mother Shannon said that earlier that day her husband had done some rearranging in the shed which had potentially stirred up the 1.5m carpet snake. Neither she nor her husband Jonathan knew the snake was there.

"The boys have some toys in the shed. When Saige went in, he started screaming and his Dad noticed his foot was bleeding.," she said.

Mrs Hardie said the snake bite started a flurry of activity, especially when Saige described the snake as being black and red. Saige was taken to hospital for observation and monitoring, a situation which eased once the snake was classified as non venemous.

"Once it was revealed it was a carpet snake, the staff at the hospital could treat him accordingly. What a relief it was, then the snake catcher released it to the wild," she said.

Snake catcher Tony Morrison said the situation sparked warnings for people to be vigilant this summer. He returned to the site the next day to prepare a safety video.

"Snakes are out and about and parents and children need to be aware. Not that anything could have been done differently in this case, but kids need to know about snakes and stay away if they know there is one there," Mr Morrison said.