Urgent warning at popular park after woman bitten by snake

A WOMAN who suffered ‘excruciating’ pain when she was bitten by a poisonous snake in a popular park has warned walkers not to wear flip flops.

Tracey Evans ,53, ended up in hospital after being bitten on her big toe by an adder in Alver Valley Country Park in Gosport on Sunday.

She was wearing flip flops while out walking her dogs Hector and Skyler – named after Breaking Bad characters, when the reptile struck.

She was forced to miss her daughter’s birthday party because of the snake bite.

Tracey, who went out in flip flops, spent two days in hospital and described the pain as ‘excruciating’ .

She said: “It happened so quickly. I was walking in flip flops, which I’ve always done.

“We were on an open gravel pathway in a country park when I felt a sharp pain like a bramble on my foot.

‘I shouted ‘ow!’and I thought it was a bramble but my friend who I was with told me it was a snake bite.

“I quickly walked the dogs home, which was a 10 minute journey, and then my friend took me to Gosport War Memorial Hospital.”

When she arrived at hospital, her foot had started to swell up.

Staff at the Urgent Treatment Centre phoned toxicology to find out what to do, as many there had never come across an adder bite before.

After an hour, an ambulance was called and she was taken to the Queen Alexandra Hospital in Portsmouth.

Anti-venom serum had to be brought from Southampton General Hospital, as the Portsmouth hospital did not have any on site.

The charity Amphibian and Reptile Conservation said between 50 and 100 people are bitten by adders in Great Britain each year.