Three-year-old injured in UK crocodile enclosure faces ‘long rehabilitation’

Boy who was allegedly thrown into the area at a Cambridgeshire zoo has undergone five surgeries

A three-year-old boy left seriously injured after being allegedly thrown into a crocodile enclosure has undergone five surgeries and faces a long “rehabilitation journey”.

His family, who provided the update, also thanked donors who had raised more than £25,000. His parents said they had been “living at the hospital” since the incident at Johnsons of Old Hurst farm and zoo, in Cambridgeshire, on 18 June.

An update from the parents posted on the fundraising page to support the boy’s recovery and rehabilitation, as well as to provide the family with financial stability while they support him in hospital, said: “We are extremely grateful for everyone’s generosity.

“We could never thank you enough for the support you have given our family in this horrible time.”

They added: “We have been living at the hospital for two weeks now and our son has undergone five surgeries.”

They said they know he will have to undergo at least two more surgeries and that the last two weeks had been “a very uncertain and unsettling time”.

The update continued: “His rehabilitation journey is uncertain, but we do know that it won’t be a short process. The money that has been donated so far has been used to pay for our expenses.

“We are both currently away from work and the time in which this will need to be the case is unknown.”

They added: “The donations have helped ease the pressure of these expenses so we are extremely grateful to everyone. Further donations will be used to support our son’s rehabilitation and to give back to the hospital who have helped us in many ways during this challenging time. Thank you.”

A 30-year-old man from Norfolk was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after the incident and was later bailed as police said he was “assessed as not being fit for interview”. The suspect in the case reportedly has learning disabilities and had been on a trip with carers.

Cambridgeshire police said the boy “sustained serious injuries” from being “injured by a crocodile” after he ended up in the enclosure.

In a statement released through police on Wednesday, the boy’s family said they wished to “thank the staff at the zoo who rescued our son from the enclosure”. Tracey Johnson, the zoo’s co-owner, reportedly jumped into the enclosure to save the child.

On Friday, the owners of the zoo praised the “incredible speed and determination” of those who helped him. Johnsons of Old Hurst said in a social media post that they had been “alerted to reports that a child had allegedly been thrown into one of our crocodile enclosures” on 18 June.

“Everyone who was on site that day acted with incredible speed and determination,” the post on Instagram said.

“Within minutes of the first radio call, the child had been rescued from the enclosure and was receiving first aid.

“The emergency services arrived very quickly, supported by the Magpas [Mid Anglia General Practitioner Accident Service] Air Ambulance, and we cannot thank them enough for their professionalism, compassion and dedication in such difficult circumstances.”

Johnsons of Old Hurst expressed “heartfelt thanks to the visitors who stepped forward to help, including off-duty paramedics and police officers”.

They said their “calm and immediate actions made a real difference”.

The attraction added: “We are immensely proud of our own staff, who responded without hesitation and did everything they could to help and support the child until the emergency services took over.”