Qld man dies after being bitten by taipan

An elderly man bitten by a taipan at his Cairns home has died after spending nearly a week in hospital.

David Pitt, 77, went into cardiac arrest after the highly venomous snake bit him on the foot at his Yorkeys Knob home last Tuesday night.

Mr Pitt was attempting to remove the snake which had slithered into his lounge room when he was bitten.

He was revived and put in intensive care at Cairns Hospital, but died on Monday.

The coastal taipan is Australia's largest venomous snake, with some adults growing two metres long.