A man has suffered a severe seizure after the rattlesnake he decapitated bit him.

Man bitten by dead snake

Man bitten by dead snake

The gentleman was rushed to hospital after he experienced internal bleeding as a result of the fits when the severed head of the reptile he'd just killed lashed out at him as part of a Lazarus sign - a reflex movement after death - and released its poison.

Jennifer Sutcliffe - from Corpus Christi in Texas - told KIII that her husband had spotted the venomous snake in their garden and sliced off its head with a shovel.

But when he went to pick up the head to dispose of it, he was bitten and he dropped to the floor, experienced loss of vision and his hands started to swell up.

He was flown to hospital via helicopter and, although doctors initially thought the attack was fatal, he's in a stable condition after being given 26 doses of anti-venom.

However, he is still experiencing weak kidney function.