A Nepalese farmer who was bitten by a venomous snake took revenge by sinking his teeth into the reptile and killing it, police said today.

Mohamed Salmo Miya was farming near his village 200 kilometres (125 miles) southeast of Kathmandu when he encountered the deadly common cobra, district police chief Uma Prasad Chatrubedi told AFP.

"A farmer in Bardanga village has killed a white cobra with his teeth out of anger," he said. "The snake bit him while he was working in his paddy field on Tuesday evening and the man chased it and killed it."

Miya was treated at a local clinic and is recovering at home.

"I was very angry after the snake bit into me. Then I followed the snake, grabbed it and bit it to death," the 55-year-old told the Nepali-language Annapurna Post.

"I could have killed it with a stick but I was mad with anger and wanted to take revenge. I killed it with my teeth."

Nepal has a wide variety of poisonous and non-venomous snakes, which are particularly active during the summer monsoon, including the Indian rock python, which can grow up to 10 metres (33 feet) long, and the deadly king cobra.

Conservative estimates suggest that there are 20,000 cases of snake bites in Nepal a year, almost all in the Terai southern plains, causing around 1,000 deaths.

The two-metre common cobra, which accounts for the majority of bites, is worshipped by Hindus in some parts of Nepal.