Postman bitten on hand by snake lurking in postbox

Postal workers are used to getting the odd nip from unruly dogs – but postie Alan Wakley is recovering after being bitten by a poisonous snake that was lurking inside a village postbox. Wakley, 58, was bitten on the hand by an adder that had crawled into the box at Brean Cove in Somerset.

Wakely followed the advice offered in old cowboy movies and tried to suck the poison from the wound, before applying antiseptic. He has suffered no lasting harm. Wakley, who has been a postal worker for 16 years, said: "I opened the box to empty the post and expected to find a couple of letters and a few snails, which often crawl in through a small hole in the bottom.

"But when I opened the door and put my hand in I could hardly believe it when a snake jumped out and bit my hand. Its fangs went straight into the back of my hand, giving me a very sharp pain. It felt like a nasty bee sting and made me jump – I hauled the snake out of the box and threw it on to the grass where it quickly wriggled away. I think the snake was as shocked to see me as I was to get bitten by it. It was unmistakably an adder."


Photo from here.

The box, which is embedded in a wall, has been sealed up and a notice placed on it reading: "Out Of Use. Caution – Snake (Adder)."

A spokesman for Royal Mail said: "Royal Mail takes very seriously the safety of its employees, particularly our frontline staff who collect and deliver the mail. Unfortunately, attacks by animals are a hazard faced by our postmen and women, but these are most commonly by dogs.

"It's the first time I've ever heard of an attack by a snake on one of our employees and we are thankful Alan appears to have no suffered no ill effects as a result."