Trigg: Good Samaritan saves surfer from dugite bite

A GOOD Samaritan’s quick action saved a surfer from being bitten by a dugite, prompting warnings about snakes in summer.

Paul Ashby (48) stood guard on a hot day at Trigg Beach recently, as the 1.5m dugite sunned itself on the grass where children park their bikes.

“I’m usually terrified of snakes, but warning people helped me overcome my fear,” he said.

He was worried people were walking across the grass near the Trigg Beach cafe without seeing it.

The surfer in his 50s, who did not want to be named, said the local hero had saved him from a nasty bite and an ambulance to hospital.

“I was about to do a hamstring stretch where I usually do it, right there on the timber railing,” he said.

“I didn’t see the dugite and probably would have stepped on it if Paul hadn’t warned me.

“I owe him at least a beer.”

Mr Ashby said he watched the snake in the grass for 10 minutes before it slithered back into the sand dune on the beach.

“The surfer was heading straight for it; I had to stop him,” he said.

Department of Parks and Wildlife urged people to take extra care in the warmer weather as snakes are more active.

Precautions to be taken include taking walking only in cleared areas where you can see the ground, wearing enclosed footwear, keeping a watchful eye on the ground in front of you and avoiding areas of long grass or overgrown shrub.

A man in his 20s was bitten by a snake on Rottnest Island last month and had to be airlifted to hospital.

Last year, 272 people were treated for snakebites in WA.