[bbfan1991]

A 3-year-old boy had a lucky escape from some deadly eggs.

Australian Kyle Cummings had found a small collection of eggs in his garden, which later hatched into a mass of deadly snakes.

Reptile carer Trish Prendergast said that Cummings could have been killed if he had handled the eastern brown snakes - the world's most venomous species on land after Australia's Inland Taipan.

She went on to say: "He had no idea what kind of eggs they were.

"He put the eggs into a plastic takeout food container and stashed them in his bedroom cupboard, where his horrified mother, Donna Sim, found them.

"Seven had hatched, but the snakes remained trapped under the container's lid. The remaining two eggs were probably infertile and were rotten."

Eastern brown snakes, which may grow to more than six and a half feet long, usually stay with their eggs but sometimes leave for short periods in order to feed.

Prendergast said: "He's very lucky he didn't encounter the mother while he was taking her eggs. That also could have been fatal."

The boy's mother told the Townsville Bulletin newspaper: "I was pretty shocked, particularly because I don't like snakes."