Tuesday, September 2, 1997; 12:41 p.m. EDT

CLIFTON, N.J. (AP) -- A man whose 8-foot python coiled itself around his neck was rescued by his sister, who heard his screams and stamped on the snake's head.

``If this guy had been by himself, who knows what would have happened? It just wrapped around so quick,'' animal control officer Robert B. Boyle said.

The snake sprang up and bit 28-year-old Timothy Sickles on the cheek after he opened the top of its tank to give it a drink Monday. It curled around his neck as it hung onto Sickles' face, police said.

Sickles fell to the floor and his sister, 24-year-old Mary Cituk, trampled on the python's head until it was flattened. When the snake would still not let go, she trampled further down its body, flattening that. The crushed body then slithered under a bed, police said.

"It was all I could think to do," said the shaken woman, "I was wearing low heels but I knew they could do a lot of damage so I just began trampling. I thank God I was there for Tim."

Sickles suffered swelling on his face. He was treated at a hospital and released.

© Copyright 1997 The Associated Press