Snakebite injuries in the UK are becoming more common due to an increase in exotic pet ownership.
Over 11 years between 2009 and 2020 researchers found there were 321 bites registered by the National Poisons Information Service (NPIS) across 68 different species.
Out of those bitten, 15 had severe symptoms including one person who needed part of their finger amputating.
A total of 72 patients were teenagers or children and 13 were under five years old.
Around two thirds of the bites happened to men.
The figures are an increase on those recorded by NPIS between 2004 and 2010 - although the department said that snake bites are still uncommon.
In June, 2011 a snake breeder was bitten and killed by a king cobra in Eastwood, Nottingham.
Luke Yeomans, 47, was attacked by one of his 30 cobras, the world's longest venomous snake, at a snake sanctuary he was due to open the following week.
Witnesses described him as acting like he was "drunk" after the bite, before collapsing on the ground.
He died from a cardiac arrest soon after despite 10 vials of antivenom being administered by emergency crews.
In the UK there are only three types of native snakes, including the grass snake and the smooth snake.
The adder is the only venomous species on the list and can be found located across the country in woodlands, heathlands and moorlands.
The last known death from an adder bite was in 1975 when a five-year-old boy was bitten on the ankle in Scotland.
It is estimated that around one in 100 households in the UK owns a snake.
One of the researchers, Professor David Warrell from the University of Oxford, said: “ Our results show an overall increase in the number of exotic snake bites reported to the NPIS compared to previous figures.
“Most of these bites occur to fingers, hands and wrists following deliberate handling interaction by people who keep snakes as part of their occupation or hobby.
He noted that the ownership of many venomous snakes requires a special licence in the UK but because some people keep them illegally then the true extent of exotic snake bites could be higher.
