A MAN in Australia is lucky to be alive after accidentally stepping on a saltwater crocodile he said was “bigger than 4 meters.”

Leroy Daly was out with friends hunting magpie geese when he stepped on the snapper lurking in the shallow water.

The terrifying encounter happened in Northern Territory, in between Daly River and Adelaide River.

“I grew up in Daly River for most of my life, swimming with crocodiles,” he said. “But I’ve never been bitten until now.”

The 28-year-old was picking up a goose when he unknowingly stepped on the crocodile’s head.

“I thought it might have been a log or something – but then felt its sharp teeth,” he said. “You should have seen the size of it.”

The huge river-lurker launched onto his foot before retreating back into the water.

Daly’s friends ran to his rescue and pulled him out of the water. Daly managed to wrench his foot from the crocodile’s head as it chewed on his toes.

“[The crocodile] bit one off and the other one was just hanging by the skin,” he said.

However, the injured man has vowed to keep hunting in the future, and has even been watching nature show “Animal Planet” from his hospital bed.

But the near-death experience led Daly to advise others to be extra careful when wading through the river. “If you go out hunting, beware there are crocodiles everywhere.” (SD-Agencies)