AN eight-year-old girl was rushed to hospital after being bitten by a poisonous snake at a North-East beauty spot.

Corinne Kerr's father Billy didn't believe his daughter had been bitten by a snake until she started to vomit and her foot swelled up.

Mr Kerr and his wife, Julie, held a four-day vigil at Corinne's hospital bedside after she was treated for the bite.

Doctors at the hospital had never dealt with a snake bite and only knew what they were dealing with thanks to Corinne's calm description.

She was on a family day out at the idyllic area of Sheepwash, near Osmotherley, on Thursday when she stood on the snake.

Mr Kerr said: "She showed me her foot and the bite was about the size of a 2p piece with a drop of blood. To my shame, I said 'you've been bitten by something, but it won't be a snake'. Within minutes, she said she was feeling dizzy.

"She said 'Daddy, you have to take me to hospital', then she started to lose consciousness."

The family doctor, Dr Si Chaudhry, at Ingleby Barwick, near Stockton, gave her a shot of adrenaline and she was taken by ambulance to the University Hospital of North Tees, in Stockton.

Dr Chaudhry said: "I was very worried for her.

"She was becoming very ill very quickly. I really felt for her parents. Thank God they came here immediately, instead of waiting."

Consultant pediatrician Dr Bruce McLain said snake venom can cause a reaction in the body which can slow down the heartbeat and reduce blood pressure.

However, he said that apart from administering fluids and drugs - such as adrenaline -medics simply had to wait for the poison to leave Corinne's system.

Mr Kerr, a chemical factory worker, said he and his wife have cancelled a camping holiday with Corinne and their two other children.