The snake was seen on the side of Terblanche and Helette Botes’ yard.

Helette prodded the snake away with a broomstick to keep it at a safe distance.

By the time the Middelburg Observer journalist arrived on the scene, the snake had slithered back into the bush.
Luckily no one was injured, and the family’s Jack Russell wasn’t bitten.

Otherwise known as a ring-necked spitting cobra, rinkhals are a venomous breed known to spit venom into the eyes of people, which if not treated, can cause blindness. Their poisonous spray can reach nearly three metres in length and they are also known for playing dead when they feel threatened.