[bbfan1991]

A 13-month-old Israeli toddler was found biting the head off a snake.

Imad Aleeyan, who only has six teeth, was found by his mother Ghadir chewing on the 12-inch reptile.

She is quoted by The Daily Telegraph as saying: "I was making his milk and I looked over and saw he had a snake in his mouth. I started to scream. I couldn't believe my eyes. I nearly died of fright."

Meanwhile, the baby boy's aunt said of the scene: "We rushed in and found the baby with a snake in his mouth, chewing it. It was really scary, just horrible.

"Doctors at the hospital told us the snake was really poisonous but that we were very lucky because they release less venom in the winter."

Expert Boaz Shacham revealed the snake to be a coin-marked hemorrhois nummifer, a non-venomous species which resembles a viper.

Shacham said: "It probably didn't bite the child because of the cold. They are not really active in winter."

A neighbour recalled: "When he pulled it out, Imad started crying," describing the snake's head as "very badly chewed" when it emerged from the boy's mouth.