A Suffolk runner has issued a warning after an encounter with a venomous snake in a forest in Suffolk.

Personal trainer Ruth Murphy was running with her Labrador Henry through The King's Forest in West Stow when she nearly stepped on an adder.

"I was running along a woodland path when an adder slithered under my feet," she said. 

"It slithered up very quickly so I didn't notice until I was hovered over its body."

"It was looking straight at me as if it was going to go for me, but it was probably frightened too."

Ms Murphy's experience comes after an increase in UK adder sightings this year.

The RSCPA issued a warning at the start of the summer to pet owners after a dog was killed by an adder bite in Dorset in June 2023.

Luckily, Ms Muphy's dog Henry did not seem to notice the venomous snake and the adder left him alone. 

"It was rather frightening," said Ms Murphy.

Adders are easily distinguished from grass snakes; they are grey or reddish-brown, with a dark zig-zag-shaped stripe down their back.