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Girl, 9, bitten TWICE by deadly snake while sleeping

A nine-year-old girl is in hospital in the Northern Territory after a highly venomous snake bit her on both feet.

The Alice Springs girl was in her bedroom on Monday evening when the mulga snake bit her.

"She got into bed about 8.30 and by 9.30 she woke up screaming," the girl's father, Jason Phillips, told AAP.

"We didn't know what was wrong. We thought she had a nightmare or something."

A stock image of a Brown snake found in Cairns
A nine-year-old girl was bitten twice by the highly venomous mulga snake also known as the king brown snake (pictured). Source: AAP

The girl told her parents her feet were sore. When they pulled back the doona, they saw the snake on the mattress.

"I was absolutely freaked out," Mr Phillips said.

The mulga, also known as the king brown snake, is highly venomous.

Mr Phillips and his wife took their daughter into their bedroom, shutting the snake in the girl's bedroom until a local snake catcher arrived.

They applied a compression bandage on the wound and kept her calm while they waited for an ambulance.

The girl was admitted to Alice Springs Hospital, where she was treated in the ICU until Tuesday afternoon.

She remains in hospital and Mr Phillips expects she will return home on Wednesday.

"She's not too bad. She's still pretty sore," Mr Phillips said.

"She still can't put weight on her foot."

The snake catcher confirmed the snake was a mulga.

A St Johns Ambulance spokesperson told AAP the service has had a few calls relating to snakes over the past couple of months.

Mr Phillips said the family was grateful to St Johns Ambulance, Alice Springs Hospital, and everyone else who helped them on Monday and Tuesday.

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