An Australian woman has narrowly escaped an encounter with a venomous tiger snake after it slithered up her leg while she was travelling at around 80km/h on a major Melbourne motorway.
Victoria Police said they were called to the Monash Freeway on Saturday morning after receiving reports of a barefoot woman trying to flag down cars.
The woman explained that she had felt something on her foot and that she had looked down to find a snake slithering up her leg.
It was identified as a tiger snake, one of the world's most venomous, that had curled up under the steering wheel of the woman's car.
She had managed to fend off the serpent while weaving through traffic before she pulled into an emergency lane.
"Still in a state of shock and needing to ensure she wasn’t bitten; the driver was assessed by paramedics while police pondered on how to deal with the snake," Victoria Police said in a statement.
"Tim from Melbourne Snake Control was contacted, quickly identified the tiger snake (the fourth most venomous snake in the world) and volunteered his services.
"Passing motorists were left in bewilderment as the massive snake was safely removed from the vehicle."
Tiger snakes can be found across much of the Australian state of Victoria, including in highly populated areas such as Melbourne.
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