0:00:04 > 0:00:08On Deadly 60, I've had loads of incredible animal encounters.
0:00:08 > 0:00:11Here's just one of my many favourites.
0:00:12 > 0:00:16This is Deadly 60 Bites.
0:00:19 > 0:00:21- Do you want to pass me the camera, Mark?- Sure.
0:00:21 > 0:00:23'Today, we're on a wild adventure in the UK,
0:00:23 > 0:00:26'finding deadly animals closer to home
0:00:26 > 0:00:29'and the crew are right behind me.'
0:00:30 > 0:00:33I'll get myself over, guys. Don't worry about me.
0:00:34 > 0:00:37Ever since I was a little kid, I've been obsessed with snakes.
0:00:37 > 0:00:40And I spend a good part of my life travelling around the world,
0:00:40 > 0:00:42catching some of the most venomous ones.
0:00:42 > 0:00:45Touch wood, I've never been bitten by handling one.
0:00:45 > 0:00:48Although I did get hospitalised
0:00:48 > 0:00:51when I stood right on top of a venomous snake and got bitten.
0:00:52 > 0:00:53It wasn't a black mamba.
0:00:55 > 0:00:56It wasn't a king cobra.
0:00:58 > 0:01:00And it wasn't a gaboon viper.
0:01:01 > 0:01:03Although it was in the viper family.
0:01:03 > 0:01:07In fact, it was right here in the heaths of southern England.
0:01:07 > 0:01:09So I've come back here to try and find one.
0:01:11 > 0:01:15I was in my local country park, out walking the dog.
0:01:15 > 0:01:17And...throwing sticks for her.
0:01:17 > 0:01:21And all of a sudden, felt a really sharp pain in my ankle.
0:01:21 > 0:01:24And it turned out to be an adder.
0:01:24 > 0:01:27It's had me incapacitated for the last four days,
0:01:27 > 0:01:29laid up in hospital for three of those.
0:01:29 > 0:01:31And now my leg's going purple.
0:01:31 > 0:01:34I was bitten here.
0:01:34 > 0:01:38Only one fang went in, I think, cos I could only see one spot of blood.
0:01:38 > 0:01:41And then immediately all of this area really swelled up,
0:01:41 > 0:01:43very, very large, very bloated.
0:01:43 > 0:01:46And the swelling spread all the way up my leg. It's pretty ugly.
0:01:46 > 0:01:50I'll have more respect for them in the future, that's for sure.
0:01:50 > 0:01:52Now, I'd be absolutely heartbroken
0:01:52 > 0:01:55if people were scared of snakes because of what happened to me.
0:01:55 > 0:01:57Truth is, I must have stood right on top of that adder
0:01:57 > 0:01:58for it to have bitten me.
0:01:58 > 0:02:02Actually, it's incredibly rare for people to even see them.
0:02:02 > 0:02:05As soon as anyone gets close, they just disappear off into the bushes,
0:02:05 > 0:02:07and their camouflage is amazing.
0:02:07 > 0:02:10That's why they're going to be very difficult to find.
0:02:16 > 0:02:19'This is a perfect location to go looking for adders.
0:02:19 > 0:02:22'The Wildlife Trust has laid down these tin shelters...'
0:02:22 > 0:02:25Oh, rats!
0:02:25 > 0:02:28'and there's plenty of thick undergrowth
0:02:28 > 0:02:31'for them to skitter off into if there's any sign of danger.'
0:02:32 > 0:02:36'Although I was yet to see an adder, under these pieces of tin,
0:02:36 > 0:02:40'I found a whole host of our other native reptiles.'
0:02:42 > 0:02:46Ooh! A bit fiery!
0:02:46 > 0:02:51Now, this is probably Britain's least-known snake.
0:02:51 > 0:02:52It's a smooth snake.
0:02:52 > 0:02:56And the name comes from the exceptional, silky quality
0:02:56 > 0:02:58they have to their scales.
0:02:58 > 0:03:00There's no kind of ridging at all
0:03:00 > 0:03:02as you run your finger down them, like this.
0:03:02 > 0:03:06And this one, to begin with, looked like he wanted to try and bite me.
0:03:06 > 0:03:08But now, I think he's actually
0:03:08 > 0:03:10getting a bit more comfortable in my hands.
0:03:10 > 0:03:14Absolutely gorgeous snake. But no venom whatsoever.
0:03:14 > 0:03:16And not the snake we're looking for.
0:03:16 > 0:03:19So let's put it back.
0:03:19 > 0:03:23Oh, my goodness! Come and have a look at this!
0:03:23 > 0:03:26Put this down...
0:03:26 > 0:03:28Nice and careful.
0:03:28 > 0:03:32Now, this...is a grass snake.
0:03:32 > 0:03:35Starting to go a little bit crazy at the moment.
0:03:35 > 0:03:37But it'll settle down in just a second.
0:03:37 > 0:03:41You can see, one of the first things a grass snake does when it's handled
0:03:41 > 0:03:45is squirt unpleasant, white goo out of its bottom,
0:03:45 > 0:03:48which smells like I can't even begin to describe.
0:03:48 > 0:03:52Now, there's various ways of telling the three British snakes apart.
0:03:52 > 0:03:55The thing to look out for on the grass snake
0:03:55 > 0:03:57is the yellow collar behind the head,
0:03:57 > 0:04:00which will often have another black collar behind it.
0:04:00 > 0:04:02And then, if you look at the eyes,
0:04:02 > 0:04:04those are very different to the adder.
0:04:04 > 0:04:08They have a round pupil, as opposed to the slit-shaped one in the adder.
0:04:08 > 0:04:10This is our largest snake.
0:04:10 > 0:04:11In fact, grass snakes
0:04:11 > 0:04:14have been known to get to over a metre and a half in length.
0:04:14 > 0:04:17This one here is just a baby.
0:04:17 > 0:04:20But even so, for small frogs and toads,
0:04:20 > 0:04:22he is a slithering nightmare.
0:04:22 > 0:04:25'So that's two snakes down, just one more to go.
0:04:25 > 0:04:28'But that's the one we're looking for.'
0:04:28 > 0:04:30Stop. Stop, stop, stop.
0:04:30 > 0:04:31Here's an adder.
0:04:40 > 0:04:44OK, let's try and get him out into the open.
0:04:45 > 0:04:46There.
0:04:46 > 0:04:53That...is Britain's only venomous snake - the adder.
0:04:53 > 0:04:57Now, I have to say, this is absolutely not something
0:04:57 > 0:05:00that I would encourage people back home to do.
0:05:00 > 0:05:02The adder is a protected snake,
0:05:02 > 0:05:06and we're only doing this because we're on Wildlife Trust land,
0:05:06 > 0:05:07and dealing with people
0:05:07 > 0:05:10who really know how this snake needs to be protected,
0:05:10 > 0:05:12and needs to be cared for.
0:05:12 > 0:05:15Cos in all honesty...
0:05:15 > 0:05:18this snake is in far more danger from people...
0:05:18 > 0:05:21than we are from it. That said,
0:05:21 > 0:05:26the adder is an extraordinary predator.
0:05:26 > 0:05:32It has really quite toxic venom, for a snake of this size.
0:05:32 > 0:05:34It has a very, very fast strike.
0:05:34 > 0:05:37And as you've seen from how difficult it has been
0:05:37 > 0:05:38for us to actually find one...
0:05:38 > 0:05:41AMAZING camouflage. Absolutely extraordinary.
0:05:41 > 0:05:43One part of the adder that does stand out,
0:05:43 > 0:05:47and I'm not sure if Mark can get close enough to get a shot of this,
0:05:47 > 0:05:50is the eye. The eyeball is what lets you know
0:05:50 > 0:05:53that this really is a viper.
0:05:53 > 0:05:56It's bright red, with a slit-shaped pupil.
0:05:56 > 0:05:59I have to say, even a snake enthusiast like me
0:05:59 > 0:06:03looks at that and thinks that this snake does look a bit evil,
0:06:03 > 0:06:04when you get up close to it.
0:06:04 > 0:06:06And listen to that hiss.
0:06:06 > 0:06:10This is the threat that's used by pretty much all of the reptiles,
0:06:10 > 0:06:13from the crocodiles through the tiniest to the biggest of snakes.
0:06:13 > 0:06:16He's just forcing air out through his lungs,
0:06:16 > 0:06:20making a sound which you could never mistake for anything other
0:06:20 > 0:06:22than a way of telling you to go away.
0:06:22 > 0:06:25This is the first time I've caught an adder, despite having pretty much
0:06:25 > 0:06:28grown up surrounded by them on the Surrey Heaths.
0:06:28 > 0:06:32But this is the first opportunity I've had to be able to catch one.
0:06:32 > 0:06:36And I have to say, I will treasure this for ever.
0:06:36 > 0:06:38What a magnificent creature.
0:06:40 > 0:06:43The adder is the only venomous snake in the British Isles.
0:06:43 > 0:06:44Perfectly camouflaged,
0:06:44 > 0:06:46with a lightning strike,
0:06:46 > 0:06:49it makes it a truly awesome predator,
0:06:49 > 0:06:52and worthy of a place on my list.
0:07:03 > 0:07:05Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:07:05 > 0:07:08E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk