Johnsons of Old Hurst Zoo: Boy, 3, in crocodile enclosure, man charged on suspicion of attempted murder

A small town has been rocked after a three-year-old child was allegedly thrown into a crocodile enclosure at a zoo.

Cambridgeshire Police were called to Johnsons of Old Hurst, also known as Johnsons zoo, about 1pm local time with reports that a child had ended up inside an animal enclosure.

The zoo is located about 100 kilometres north of London in Huntingdon.

The child remains in a critical but stable condition at Addenbrooke’s Hospital, where he was taken with serious injuries.

Police arrested a 30-year-old man on suspicion of attempted murder.

“At this stage we are speaking to people who were at the zoo at the time of this distressing incident to understand more about the circumstances,” said Detective Inspector Verity McCann.

“We do not believe the man arrested and the child are known to each other. Officers are supporting the boy’s family at hospital, and our thoughts remain with them.”

The Sun reported that Tracey Johnson, wife of the zoo owner, jumped into the crocodile enclosure to help save the child, according to a witness.

“Apparently the boy has a broken pelvis and a broken arm, but thankfully the crocodile didn’t actually get to him,” they said.

“Someone was able to jump in and get him out of the water.

“It could have been so much worse, but he’s obviously got some really serious injuries from the fall.

“None of the injuries were from the crocodiles, thank God.”

The zoo released a statement on social media about the incident.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with the boy and his family following the incident that occurred today,” it read.

“Out of respect to the family, our Tropical House will remain closed until further notice... The rest of the site will remain open as normal.”

Local MP posted on X about the incident, which he called “hugely traumatic”.

“My thoughts are with the young victim and his family during a hugely traumatic and difficult time,” he wrote.

“This is now a live criminal investigation, and I would ask people to refrain from speculation online. The police will provide an update with further information in due course.”

Council representative Charlotte Lowe said she was “shocked” by the incident, reported the BBC.

“To have something like this happen here is just incredulous,” she said.

“You don’t expect this to happen in a rural village.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with the family of the young boy suffering in this.”

She said that safety measures like Perspex glass and secure walkways were in place inside the zoo.

On its website, the zoo says it “houses over 100 fascinating animals”, including crocodiles, lions and a Bengal tiger.

It is understood that the crocodile enclosure is housed in a converted cattle barn with elevated walkways.

The website also laid out the family-owned farm’s interest in conservation had led to a fascination with crocodiles.

“We are hoping to continue to develop our crocodile farm here at Johnsons of Old Hurst to be a part of this remarkable conservation effort,” it read.

It became the UK’s first crocodile farm in 2006.

With Reuters.