Tot’s terrifying encounter with brown snake

A quick-thinking Lalor mum sprung into action when a deadly brown snake slithered towards her young daughter’s splash pool.

A terrifying encounter between a toddler and a brown snake could have ended in tragedy if a Lalor mother had not swiftly leapt to action.

Footage has shown a brown snake slithering through a suburban back garden in the northern suburbs, approaching the toddler’s above-ground pool and preparing to strike.

Mother Danielle Vizzini sprang to her toddler Eva and yanked her out of the water, then fled inside.

“I just saw it and yanked her so fast, it was terrifying,” Ms Vizzini told 3AW.

“I saw it rise up out of the ground because it was in an S shape, it looked ready to strike her,

“My husband was under the alfresco with my five-month-old, and we were just both in shock.”

She said the grass in the Whittlesea Council had grown one metre high in some areas and criticised the council’s response to her complaints.

“It’s appalling and it needs to be taken seriously by the council,” Ms Vizzini told the Herald Sun.

“The last time I called them up, they said snakes weren’t their issue and they wouldn’t do anything about it.

“Most of these snake catchers charge a $200 flat rate call out fee - regardless of whether they actually catch a snake - and that’s out of a lot of people’s budget.”

She said with summer quickly approaching, the problem was only going to get worse.

“There are so many kids around this area and it’s breeding season for the snakes – as far as I know there haven’t been any snake bites yet, but it’s only a matter of time.”

Snake catcher Mark Pelley said after Victoria’s cold snap and subsequent flooding, he was getting called out to jobs in surprising suburbs.

Danielle Vizzini says the council has ignored her complaints about long grass. Picture: Jake Nowakowski

“I’ve been out in Kew, Northcote, Collingwood and Abbotsford – it’s the season for snakes where they’re starving and looking for food,” Mr Pelley said.

“I get a lot in Diamond Creek and that area but honestly, they’re likely to be everywhere right now.

“Sometimes I see up to three snakes on one property.”

Mr Pelley said because of council regulations, he was not allowed to do his job in a public space unless he previously sought permission.

“I wish the council would work with me collaboratively, because if I get a call about a snake in a public area, legally I can’t touch it until I get their permission.

“Often there are kids in these areas, but I’m not able to safely remove the snake until they give me the all clear.”

He said the council’s method of snake-removal was impractical and put people at risk of snake bites.

“If councils were to cooperate with me and we teamed up, I could catch and prevent so many snakes from going into people’s homes, workplaces and kindergartens.”

As for Eva, Ms Vizzini said she has recovered well from the shock and is enjoying telling everyone how “the big snake nearly got me”.

Originally published as Tot’s terrifying encounter with brown snake