Tragic new details emerge about how hero husband saved his wife from an eastern brown snake while they were watching TV – before it bit and killed him
- Vincent Price was killed by an eastern brown
- The snake was inside his Queensland home
A hero husband who was killed rescuing his wife from a dangerous eastern brown snake had been looking forward to celebrating their 38th wedding anniversary.
Father-of-two Vincent Price, aged in his 60s, sprung into action just before 10am on Saturday when his wife spotted the snake slithering through their home at Kensington Grove, in southeast Queensland's Lockyer Valley, as the pair watched TV.
Mr Price, an experienced snake handler who had owned a number of pet pythons, immediately grabbed the reptile.
It's understood tragedy struck when he tried to release the eastern brown, one of the most venomous snakes in the world, back into the wild.
Father of two Vincent Price was killed by an eastern brown snake (above) on Saturday after his wife spotted it inside their Queensland home
'That's when it must have turned around and bit him. He got in the car and came straight home and collapsed inside,' neighbour Michelle Vedredi told The Courier Mail.
'His wife rang triple-0, did CPR - but it was too late. Ambos came, they tried CPR too.'
Ms Vedredi said another neighbour told her they had heard Mr Price's wife screaming through the fence for help before paramedics arrived.
Neighbours have reported seeing a number of deadly brown snakes in the area with one claiming to have spotted four in recent weeks.
The eastern brown is the world's second-most venomous snake and is known to be aggressive.
It's venom can kill a person in half an hour with the effects including paralysis, uncontrollable bleeding and breathing difficulties.
There has been an increase in snake sightings as Australia faces its third consecutive La Nina weather system.
Neighbours said they'd seen an increased amount of brown snakes around Lockyer Valley (above) in the weeks before the attack
One of Mr Price's neighbours said they saw four brown snakes before he was attacked (pictured, the Price's street)
Lockyer Valley snake catcher Chris Jennings told Daily Mail Australia land development in the area meant the natural habitat of the reptiles was disrupted, causing them to seek shelter elsewhere.
He said recent hot weather had also contributed to snakes looking for shelter, including in people's homes.
However, he stressed it was more important to be educated about snakes than fearful of them.
'Snakes don't actually want to attack people,' he said.
'The best thing people can do is to is learn about the snakes in their area and get first-aid training'.
The last reported fatality in Queensland was in November after a woman aged in her 50s was bitten in North Burnett.
Queensland Police confirmed a report would be prepared for the coroner.
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