Murraylands man Jake Coombe recounts scary snake encounter

A Murraylands father has detailed his nightmare encounter with an eastern brown snake after noticing it was looking to strike his two-year-old daughter.

A Murraylands father said he is still ‘in shock’ after putting himself between a deadly snake and his two-year-old daughter, inside of their family home.

Jake Coombe had just returned to his Tailem Bend home from holidays on Monday and began to unpack while his toddler Alba played in the hallway.

By chance, Mr Coombe noticed his youngest was curious at the sight of something in the doorway from his garage and quickly realised his daughter was approaching the slippery visitor.

Tailem Bend man Jake Coombe was bitten by a snake he encountered in his home upon returning for a short holiday. Picture: Facebook.

“She was carrying a fishing reel and I saw her drop it and run for something and I looked over and I saw something flare up at her,” Mr Coombe said.

“So I ran over and grabbed her, it flared up and got me.

“I knew there was a chance (of being bitten) but I couldn’t risk letting my daughter cop the bite.”

The local baker and footy coach said adrenaline from seeing the snake flare up at his daughter and the relief of getting her away from danger made the bite an afterthought for a few moments.

Mr Coombe contacted his father-in-law to come and help locate the snake which had hidden inside the home before attending the Murray Bridge hospital.

“I stayed overnight in hospital, luckily it was a dry bite but maybe it would have been a different story if Alba got to it – she could have picked it up and wouldn’t have got away so quickly,” he said.

“Better me than her, that’s for sure.”

Mr Coombe said he developed a rash on the top of his foot following the bite but it was not of concern to medical staff and he was released from hospital the next day.

“I live on acreage, I live in Australia so I expect to see snakes but this was a shock still,” he said.

“I keep thinking about what would have happened to my daughter if I didn’t see it.”

The SES issued a warning in the summer about increased snake activity for residents along the River Murray as the reptiles made their way off the inundated flood plains.

In January, The Messenger reported a resident spotted 10 snakes entering the yard of a home in the space of two hours.