A teacher enjoying a beach trip during his school holiday break has revealed his excruciating injury after stepping on a stingray that was covered by the sand. 

Liam Richards, from north Queensland, had been walking in the shallow water last week when he startled the creature which flicked its tail up to lodge a large stinger through his leg. 

One picture of the injury shows the five-inch long barb protruding from Mr Richards calf as a huge bruise forms around the area, while another picture shows him being treated by ambulance workers. 

'One souvenir you don't want to come home with when visiting the Tip of Australia is a stingray barb, especially one lodged in your leg!' Queensland Ambulance Service posted on their Facebook page on Wednesday. 

Paramedics said both Mr Richards and the stingray received a huge fright after their unexpected meeting with the stingray flicking its barb as a defence mechinism. 

After being taken by ambulance to a nearby hospital, Mr Richards was then flown by helicopter to Cairns where he underwent surgery to remove the stinger.  

Mr Richards has made a full recovery and has returned home, with the barb as a souvenir to impress his students during the classroom 'show-and-tell'. 

He said on Wednesday that the paramedic named Carl who treated him 'was amazing'.

The staff at Bamaga Hospital were 'awesome' he added - especially the doctor who gave him a nerve blocker for the significant pain before the Royal Flying Doctor Service trip to Cairns. 

'Thank you to everyone! Sorry to the stingray...' Mr Richards said. 

'And I would say definitely don't stomp ... shuffle is the option. I stomped and landed smack bang on top of it. If I was shuffling I dare say I would have had a fright but not a barb through my achilles'. 

People commenting on the post said they were glad Mr Richards has recovered with some adding they had also been stung by the creature and the pain was serious. 

'I stood on one years ago and it went into my foot. Painful in the extreme!' one person said. 

'You are one lucky lemon mate,' another said.

'OUCH!!!' a third person agreed. 

Stingray incidents are common in Australia with the marine creatures being responsible for 116 incidents just in New South Wales between 2013 and 2016 - second only to bluebottle jellyfish. 

There have also been deadly cases including Australian conservationist Steve Irwin who died in 2006 after a stingray barbed pierced his chest while he working on a documentary in the Great Barrier Reef.  

Commenters on the post had some advice on how to avoid getting stung including shuffling through the sand to create vibrations and looking out for signs of the creatures. 

'The Stingray Shuffle is how you should walk when in water, slide your feet along the ground without lifting them,' one person said.

'Sometimes if you look carefully you'll see circular depressions in the water, which tells you a sting ray is there under the surface and is feeding. So if you can avoid stomping through the shallows,' another person added. 

Stingray barbs contain a toxin which causes the extreme pain with medical advice being the best antidote is to submerge the area in hot, but not boiling, water. 

Both of Mr Richard's legs were placed in green bins filled with hot water, with hospital staff using the containers for the hot water method - the uninjured leg is also submerged to make sure the water isn't too hot.

'We're glad you're on the road to recovery Liam!' paramedics wrote on Wednesday.