A teenage girl’s worst nightmare became a reality, when she woke up in the middle of the night after a snake wrapped itself around her neck and bit her arm.
16-year-old Ashlee Findlay lists her greatest fears as snakes, spiders and centipedes – hospital staff say the experience will haunt her for some time.
“I probably won't sleep in that room for a while," Ms Findlay told Northern Territory News.
"Everyone is a bit freaked. Something just has to touch a foot and we think it's a snake".
Ms Findlay spent two hours in Royal Darwin Hospital – the snake was identified as a slaty-grey snake, which is not venomous.
Her mother had brought the snake to the hospital so it could be identified.
Ms Findlay’s brother-in-law had managed to track down the snake, and kill it a short time after the attack.