JAKE Thomas thought there would be no risk of a bite from a red-bellied black snake 45 minutes after cutting it in half.

He was wrong.

The "dead" snake turned on the 66-year-old and bit him twice on the hand.

Mr Thomas, a volunteer who mows the local cemetery at Werris Creek where his daughter Kim is buried, came across the snake during his usual clean-up. It was in a vase on a headstone.

Fearful about other people's safety, Mr Thomas cut the snake in half. Like most people would, he had thought the strike had killed the snake, so he left to finish off the rest of the cemetery maintenance.

media_camera The snake bite to Jake Thomas' finger that put him in intensive care in Tamworth Hospital. Picture: Peter Lorimer.

About 45 minutes later he came back to get rid of the snake. "I put my hand in the vase to pick it up and it grabbed on to me even though it was dead," Mr Thomas said.

"I pulled my hand out and saw two little marks and knew it had got hold of me."

He was taken to the local hospital before being transferred to nearby Tamworth Hospital, where he was given antivenene and spent two days in intensive care.

media_camera A venomous red-bellied black snake.

"My hand swelled up for a week," he said. "I won't be going near a snake dead or not for a long time now."

Australian Reptile Park curator Liz Vella said people who killed snakes or came across a dead one should not treat it as though it was dead. Snakes retained their bite reflex and could still be venomous for up to an hour after death.