AS he drove along the F3, Troy Vella was troubled by a banging noise from beneath his car.

When he arrived at work at Mascot, he got out to inspect what he thought would be a tree branch.

Instead, he was confronted by a 2m red-bellied black snake - which bit him on the leg.

"I heard this banging noise coming from under the car as I drove down," Mr Vella, 44, said from his bed at the Prince of Wales Hospital, where his condition is satisfactory.

"When I opened the door to get out, I saw this huge snake rear up from just outside the car and strike my lower leg."

Mr Vella slammed the door shut and jumped out of the passenger side of the vehicle.

"When I came round the other side, I saw this massive snake half stuck in the door of the car, still trying to get at me," he said.

Mr Vella's colleague Anthony Gennusa was nearby when he got the call from his stricken mate.

"I didn't believe it when he first told me, to be honest. I had to see it for myself and even then it was a bit surreal," Mr Gennusa said.

Despite being bitten, Mr Vella said he was more worried about the damage the snake had done to his new Holden Senator.

"I'd like the snake to have a chat with my insurer and pay the excess for all the scratches he's caused to my new car," he said.

Wires Ambulance Rescuer Barry Alexander captured the snake at the scene. He said while red-bellied black snakes were uncommon in Sydney, people should still be wary that hot weather will bring them out.

"We do have red bellies, not so much in Mascot, but certainly up north. It's the heat that brings them out and we've had a lot of hot days of late," Mr Alexander said.

The snake was taken to the reptile vet and given a clean bill of health.

Originally published as Hitchhiking snake just wanted a lift