Man fights off deadly snake while driving on Australian highway

A routine ride in his vehicle turned out to be the most terrifying life experience for a man in Australia, upon realising he had a deadly snake as a co-passenger.

The Australia driver, however, lived to tell the tale as he succeeded in fighting off the highly venomous eastern brown snake while travelling at around 70mph in his pickup truck, police have said.

The incident occurred on a regional highway west of the town of Calliope in Queensland, Australia, on June 15.

Local police pulled the 27-year-old driver over for allegedly breaking the speed limit, according to a police statement.

When an officer questioned him, the man, who gave his name only as Jimmy, explained that he had been attacked by a snake, which he fought off with a seat belt and a knife.

Footage, taken from the officer's body camera and released on Tuesday, captures Jimmy saying: "A brown snake or a tiger snake is in the back of the ute (utility vehicle). It think it has bitten me, it was in the ute with me."

The officer then walks around to the boot of the vehicle, where the eastern brown snake can be seen.

The driver later told the police that the snake had appeared near the gear stick, before starting to coil itself around his legs.

"And the more I moved my legs… it just started to wrap around me. Its head just started striking at the (driver’s seat) chair, between my legs," Jimmy added.

The police statement said: "Although the traffic officer had heard his fair share of excuses for speeding, he soon realised this was not just another colourful tale and promptly sought medical assistance."

Paramedics later arrived on the scene and determined that the man had not been bitten by the snake but was suffering from shock.

“It was pretty terrifying, I’ve never been so happy to see red and blue lights,” Jimmy said.

Brown snakes are found across much of Australia.