An urgent summer warning has been issued after a bite from a poisonous snake lurking in a park left a girl fighting for her life.

Lil, 11, was walking on a children’s adder trail at Fringhoe Wick Nature Reserve on Sunday when she was bitten by a snake.

She was crouching to get a better look at the animal when it lashed out at her hand.

Her mother, Sam Lythgho, quickly became concerned and rushed Lil to A&E at Colchester General Hospital

Lil’s chest was swollen by the time they got there. She was violently sick and they struggled to find a pulse until doctors managed to find anti-venom.

Sam told the Mirror: “Within 20 minutes her organs were shutting down and you could see the venom tracking up her arm.”

Luckily, she was given anti-venom, and 20 minutes later she let her mother know that she was feeling better. She recovered and was released from hospital a few days later.

There were no signs indicating how dangerous the reptiles were on the adder trail, according to the mum. The family were looking for pictures of the UK’s only venomous snakes in the hopes of winning a prize.

Sam now wants to raise awareness of the dangers of snake bites to stop others from going through the trauma. She said: “If I had taken her home I don’t know if she would be here now.”

Colchester General Hospital only had one anti-venom available and is now going to do more training in the event it happens again.

A spokesperson from Essex Wildlife Trust said: “Fingringhoe Wick Nature Discovery Centre has a clear sign at the entrance to our centre and on our website about adders, including information about taking caution and what to do if bitten.”

Families are advised to keep away from any adders they saw and to stick to the path, they added. The nature reserve contacted Sam and her family to check up on Lil’s condition over the following days.

To ensure this doesn’t happen again, the Trust will be adding more warning signs around the reserve to remind the public of the dangers adders possess.

If you are bitten by an adder, the NHS recommends keeping the area of the bite still and trying to remember the colour and pattern of the snake. 

Do not try to catch the snake, suck the venom out of the bite, or tie something around the bite.