Victoria police have carried out one of the “more bizarre welfare checks” after a deadly tiger snake slithered up a driver’s leg as she was travelling at 80km/h on a major freeway.

Police said they were called to Monash Freeway near the Toorak Rd exit in Melbourne’s eastern suburbs on Saturday morning after receiving reports of a barefoot woman trying to flag down passing traffic.

The woman told police she had been driving on the freeway when she felt something on her foot and looked down to find a snake “slithering up her leg”.

It was later identified as a tiger snake, one of the world’s most venomous snakes, that had curled up under the steering wheel of the car.

Police said that “remarkably” the woman was able to fend off the snake and weave through traffic before pulling over in the slip lane and leaping out of her car to safety.

Paramedics were called to make sure the woman – who police said was in a state of shock – had not been bitten.

A spokesperson for Ambulance Victoria said they couldn’t find any puncture marks or other signs the woman, aged in her 40s, had been bitten.

She was taken to the Alfred hospital in a stable condition for further observation at about 11.30am, the ambulance spokesperson said.

Police said they called snake catcher Tim Nanninga from Melbourne Snake Control to wrangle the snake safely and get it out of the car.

“Passing motorists were left in bewilderment as the massive snake was safely removed from the vehicle,” a police spokesperson said.

“And so ended one of the more bizarre welfare checks you’ll ever hear about.”

Nanninga said he didn’t know how the woman managed to pull over safely.

“I do feel sorry for the lady that was driving – it would have been absolutely terrifying,” he said.

He said he received six to 12 requests a year to remove snakes from cars but this was the first time he had been called to a freeway.

“There were about a million people filming,” he said. “I’m just not used to doing it in front of such a big audience, to be honest.”

Nanninga said the woman had travelled from south-west Victoria, which is where the snake is believed to have got into her car and then under the dashboard.

He said the snake was taken to a reptile vet and checked for parasites. He was given the all clear to release it in a local catchment area, which he said was a “safe place right away from people and pets”.

Tiger snakes can be found across much of Victoria, including in highly populated areas.

The Victorian environment department has identified them as one of the most venomous snakes in the world, and says all tiger snakes should be regarded as “highly dangerous” to humans.