Man bitten by snake after he killed it

If you think a dead snake can't hurt you, take a lesson from the NSW man who was twice bitten by one 45 minutes after he killed it.

Jake Thomas was mowing lawns at the cemetery in Werris Creek, near Tamworth, when he came across a red-bellied black snake in a vase on a headstone, reports the Daily Telegraph.

Fearing it might attack someone, Thomas cut the snake in half.

He came to retrieve the snake's body when he'd finished the rest of his work — and that's when it struck.

"I put my hand in the vase to pick it up and it grabbed on to me even though it was dead," Thomas said.

The snake left "two little marks" on Thomas's hand where it struck him.

He was taken to a local hospital then transferred to Tamworth Hospital, where he spent two days in intensive care after he was treated with antivenom.

"I won't be going near a snake, dead or not, for a long time now."

Snakes can retain their bite reflex for up to an hour after their deaths, as demonstrated in a sinister 2013 viral video that showed a viper's biting its own body immediately after its head was cut off.

Red-bellied black snakes are classified as dangerously venomous but are shy creatures that tend to stay away from humans, according to the Wildlife Information, Rescue and Education Service.