Dad dies from snake bite in Lockyer Valley, QLD as eastern brown snakes spotted in yard

A dad-of-two has died after being bitten by a snake inside his Queensland home as neighbours recounted his wife’s chilling screams while she waited for help.

Paramedics were called to a property on Eileen Court at Kensington Grove – in southeast Queensland’s Lockyer Valley – at about 9.50am on Saturday to reports a man had been bitten by a snake.

The man, aged in his 60s, died at the scene. He is survived by his wife and two children.

Neighbours said the man was an experienced snake handler and had owned a number of pythons as pets.

Next-door neighbour Michelle Vedredi, who was at work when the tragedy unfolded, said she had received multiple calls and messages from concerned family and friends.

‘They were asking if I was OK because the helicopter had been and there were four ambulances and cop cars,’ Ms Vedredi told the Courier Mail on Saturday.

She said another neighbour had told her they heard the man’s wife ‘screaming through the fence for help before ambulances got there’.

Ms Vedredi said she had spotted an eastern brown snake – the second most venomous snake in Australia – slithering through her own backyard just days prior to the tragedy. 

She had been ‘shocked by how fast it moved’.

The snake had sped across Ms Vedredi’s backyard before making its way under the fence to the late man’s home.

Another neighbour said they had seen four eastern brown snakes on their property in recent weeks.

‘This is a very tragic event and unfortunately a man has died,’ they said.

Queensland Police confirmed a report would be prepared for the coroner. 

Neighbours have reported multiple sightings of the highly venomous eastern brown snake in the area 

The tragedy occurred on a property in the Lockyer Valley in southeast Queensland on Saturday

The neighbour urged people in the area to ‘be prepared’ for snakes on their property.

‘You don’t have to live rural for to have [snakes] around. They also frequent suburbia,’ they said.

There has been an increase in snake sightings in Australia as the country faces its third consecutive La Nina weather system.

Lockyer Valley snake catcher Chris Jennings told Daily Mail Australia land development in the area meant the natural habitat of snakes was disrupted, causing them to seek shelter elsewhere.

He said recent hot weather had also contributed to snakes looking for shelter, including in people’s homes.

He stressed the importance of education around snakes and snake bites.

‘Snakes don’t actually want to attack people,’ he said.

‘The best thing people can do is to is learn about the snakes in their area and get first-aid training’. 

The last reported fatality in Queensland was in November after a woman in her 50s was bitten in North Burnett.