Parents and pet owners have been issued a warning after a venomous snake was spotted on a Welsh beach.
Grandmother Deana Brown saw an adder on the beach at Porth Neigwl near Abersoch over the bank holiday weekend, with the reptile slithering over the sand before disappearing back into the dunes, North Wales Live reports. She has since warned others heading to the beach to be vigilant as temperatures rise and the snakes emerge from hibernation.
It comes after multiple other sightings of adders along the Llŷn Peninsula, as well as an unconfirmed report of a dog being bitten by a snake at Newborough in Anglesey. Get the latest news from across Wales sent straight to your inbox for free by signing up to our newsletter.
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Ms Brown, whose teenage grandson Charlie filmed the adder heading back towards the dunes, said dog owners and parents of young children should be on alert for the snakes when they head to the beach this summer, posting the video as a warning. "Hopefully it can stop a dog or a child being bitten," she said, adding: "Just be careful".
Adders, the only venomous snake in the UK, rarely venture onto beaches and also do not tend to bite, preferring instead to avoid confrontation with people. As they are more inquisitive, however, dogs can be more vulnerable to snake bites, with owners urged to be careful away from main paths and while crossing sand dunes.
Last year, a five-year-old rescue dog was bitten on the face by an adder hiding in grass in Penllergaer Woods in Swansea, leaving its owner with £1,700 worth of vet bills, while another dog walker in Llangennith had to pay a bill worth double that amount in order to save their beloved Staffy. While they usually stay off beaches, in 2021, an adder was also filmed swimming off the Anglesey coast near Rhosneigr.
Across the UK, around 100 dogs are bitten by adders each year and, while few are fatal, the effects can be severe and incidents should be treated as an emergency. If you suspect an adder bite, carry your dog to your car to reduce the circulation of venom in its bloodstream. Symptoms include swelling - usually the face or leg – drooling, vomiting, lethargy and breathing difficulties. Two small puncture wounds may be visible.
Human deaths from adder bites are even more rare, with no fatal snakebites being recorded in the UK since 1975, when a five-year-old boy was bitten in Scotland. In the 25 years prior to that, when 61 people died from bee or wasp stings, there was just one snakebite death in England and Wales.
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