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<\/p>\nA biker ended up in A&E after being bitten by stowaway snake.<\/p>\n
Dave Craker, 62, reckons he picked up the venomous viper during a motorbike trip around France, Spain and Portugal. His right leg became swollen and painful on another bike ride weeks after he returned to Worthing, West Sussex – landing him in hospital.<\/p>\n
Doctors said it was likely he had been bitten by something and, days later, he noticed a foul smell coming from his BWM R 1200 GS. He removed a panel and was shocked to see a mangled snake – likely a European viper, experts say.<\/p>\n
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Accounting firm archivist Dave said: \u201cI\u2019m lucky to be alive. The consultant was amazed. He said, \u2018You shouldn\u2019t be here\u2019. He said I should have died within 48 hours. He was really surprised that I hadn\u2019t even lost my leg. It\u2019s unbelievable – all sorts of things could have happened. It\u2019s a deadly snake that has been in my garage for weeks.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Dave, who has two sons aged 18 and 21, planned weeks biking in Europe after treatment for cancer in March. He crossed the Channel then travelled down through France, across the north of Spain and into Portugal. But he got ill after five days and then arrived back in the UK on July 31.<\/p>\n
He examined his bike when he noticed a foul smell and a leak and found the culprit – an 18-inch snake. Back at the hospital staff agreed a snake had bitten him and he was given an antidote, which worked. Dave said: \u201cI\u2019m not good with spiders and snakes. As soon as I saw it lying there the horror hit.<\/p>\n
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\u201cI realised that\u2019s what had bitten me – and that I\u2019d been carrying around snake venom in my leg. It was 45 degrees in Portugal. The snake must have crept between the panelling and the fuel tank to keep cool. I guess me and my partner squashed it when we sat on the bike to go to Eastbourne. Or I squashed it with my leg, so it bit me. But I didn\u2019t feel it through my biking jeans.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was surprised to see the bike leaking because it was new. I thought it might be oil or antifreeze but it stank and now I know it was from the dead snake.\u201d<\/p>\n
An expert at the Amphibian and Reptile Conservation Trust, a UK-based charity, studied a picture of the snake. They said: \u201cIt could be one of a few viper species: Seoane\u2019s Viper aka the Iberian Cross Adder\/Portuguese Viper (Vipera seoanei), or an Asp Viper (Vipera aspis) or Lataste\u2019s Viper (Vipera latastei).<\/p>\n