Deadly Brown Snake Slithers Through Plughole As Man Washes Dishes

Doing the dishes can be a daunting enough proposition at the best of times, but spare a thought for one poor blighter down under whose pot washing was interrupted by a deadly snake.

Michael Hilliard, from Bunya, Queensland, had just started his chores when an eastern brown snake slithered out of the plughole and within inches of his hand.

The reptile - whose sneaky shenanigans did nothing to help the anti snake stereotyping movement - is considered the second-most venomous land snake in the world and is responsible for more than half of snakebite deaths in Australia.

But like a true Aussie, Michael described it merely as 'a bit of a surprise'.

Reflecting on the close encounter, he told 9News: "It was just a bit of a surprise. I'd popped my hands in and it was like 'woah what was that'.

"Then I found out it was a juvenile eastern brown so I phoned up the snake catcher and he said 'yes it is'.

"It was a bit of a shock because they're pretty lethal. Thank God it didn't get me. You'd think they'd be nice and quiet there."

Facebook/Brisbane North Snake Catchers

Snake Catcher Steven Brown of Brisbane North Snake Catchers was tasked with removing the venomous little sink infiltrator, but by the time he'd arrived it has made its way back down into the drain.

So while washing your hands has never been more important, just keep an eye on the plughole if you live in Australia. In fact, if you live in Australia, perhaps it's best to remain on permanent lookout for snakes.

Last year, a family in Buderim spotted a massive python hiding on their veranda.

The carpet python, despite being about 2m long, was incredibly well hidden - so well hidden in fact that when Sunshine Coast Snake Catchers (SCSC) shared a snap of the snake on the veranda on Facebook people couldn't see it.

The SCSC subsequently shared a video of them removing the snake, captioning the video: "Imagine going out onto your deck in the morning and sitting down in the warm morning sun only to realise something else is there enjoying the sun's warmth as well. This is the video from the 'Spot the snake' post yesterday.

"Carpet Pythons are the most common snake we catch and don't seem too bothered by humans. They will often hang out in entertaining areas like this and won't move, even if people are around. Majority of other snakes will retreat to cover when they see someone nearby."

Topics: Snakes, Animals, Australia

Jake Massey

Jake Massey is a journalist at LADbible. He graduated from Newcastle University, where he learnt a bit about media and a lot about living without heating. After spending a few years in Australia and New Zealand, Jake secured a role at an obscure radio station in Norwich, inadvertently becoming a real-life Alan Partridge in the process. From there, Jake became a reporter at the Eastern Daily Press. Jake enjoys playing football, listening to music and writing about himself in the third person.

@jakesmassey