Woman finds deadly brown snake hiding in child’s lunchbox

'Not really what you expect to see when you check if your child ate their fruit'

The brown snake is highly venomous (Facebook/Snake Catchers Adelaide)

A mother discovered one of the world's most deadly snakes in the lip her child's lunch box, as she was packing it.

Identified as a juvenile eastern brown, the creature which can grow up to two metres in length, can cause convulsions, paralysis and cardiac arrest, although fatal bites are fairly uncommon in Australia, where it was discovered in the city of Adelaide.

“A photo sent in for an ID today,” snake handler Rolly Burrell posted on Facebook. “A hatching brown snake found a hideout in a child’s lunch box!

“Not really what you expect to see when you check if your child ate their fruit.”

Mr Burrell told ABC Radio Adelaide that the woman trapped the animal in the lunchbox as soon as she spotted it.

“She'd already started packing it, the lunchbox itself has a lip around the top — snakes like to get into closed spaces so they feel secure,” he said.

“When she opened up the lid ... She didn't even see it and she was halfway through putting the lunch in and then she saw it and shut the lid down and gave us a call.”

The reptile was removed without incident.

Characteristically aggressive, eastern brown's prey on mice, making them useful for pest control.

Last month, a man died after being bitten by one as he attempted to protect his dog in New South Wales.

He was rushed to hospital where an antivenom was administered but died within an hour of his arrival, according to police.