Dad left with 'elephant leg' after being bitten by Britain's most dangerous snake
We all have plenty of worries in the United Kingdom, but you probably didn't think you had to consider snakes among the list. Until now.
Unlike much of the world, who has to contend with wild beasts - did you see that woman stand up to a grizzly bear last week? That did not look fun - and deadly creepy crawlies, the UK is mostly a safe haven from the animal kingdom.
Accidents can happen, of course, and you've never known fear until a cow starts charging at you. Trust me.
But other than rampaging farm animals, accidental collisions with wild boars or deers, stinging wasps and bites from dogs, threats from animals aren't something you have to consider much when enjoying the countryside.
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All of which meant Zak Brown was left very surprised when he felt a pain in his foot and found a snake chomping down on him.
"My whole foot and calf were swollen like an elephant. The pain was unbearable"
Mr Brown, of St Ives, Cambridgershire, was out paddleboarding with a friend in the Cavenham Heath National Nature Reserve in Suffolk last month when he stopped to take a rest on the riverbank.
What he found was anything but tranquil and recuperating, though, as within moments he felt a burning pain in his foot after being bitten by a snake.
Not just any snake, either, but a common European adder, the only venomous snake in Britain.
"As I climbed off my paddleboard, I walked up the grass verge and within seconds of standing there I just felt this bang on the back of my left ankle," Mr Brown said.
"I jumped up because of the pain and saw this snake hanging from my ankle. It was a juvenile snake around half a metre. I was lucky it wasn't a full adult adder."
Though typically not deadly to healthy adults, an adder's venom can have an immediate impact, as Mr Brown discovered.
Downriver, with no easy access to medical aid, Mr Brown and his friend had to make the two-hour paddle back to the car, but his ankle began to swell within thirty minutes, so much so that he couldn't even put weight on it.
"The pain was spreading up my leg. I thought I might have to phone the air ambulance," he added.
Mr Brown eventually made it to hospital and was treated with anti-venom, but not before his leg had swelled to resemble an elephant's.
"My whole foot and calf were swollen like an elephant. The pain was unbearable.
"I couldn't get anything back on my foot for four or five days because of the swelling.
"Now, I'm non-stop cautious of snakes, constantly looking around the grass checking because I don't want it to happen again."
How to spot a common European adder
Fortunately for Mr Brown, he was only bitten by a young European adder, which can grow up to a metre in length when fully mature and pack an even nastier bite.
If the story has given you the heebee-jeebies ahead of your next hike or kayak, then it's crucial to know how to spot the serpents.
Typically, adders have a dark zigzag stripe on their back which runs all the way down their slithery bodies. Males are usually grey, while females can be a dark brown colour.
They can be found throughout England, Scotland and Wales, typically living on the edges of woodlands, heathland, sand dunes, moorland and rough grassland.
Though being bitten will certainly ruin your day out and not be a fun experience, it's unlikely to be serious. Only 14 people have died from snake bites in the UK in the last 147 years, according to The National, with about 100 bites reported a year.
Sadly, the European adder is a vulnerable species and could be facing near-extinction by 2032, according to the Wildlife Aid Foundation.
It's said that 90 % of adder populations are in decline in the UK, with persecution and loss of habitat leading factors.
Adders are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act, 1981, so it is illegal to deliberately kill or harm them.
Daniel Murphy