Boy injured in crocodile enclosure discharged from hospital

Family of three-year-old allegedly thrown into pit at Cambridgeshire zoo say he is happy to be back at home

A three-year-old boy who was seriously injured in a zoo’s crocodile enclosure has been discharged from hospital and is settling back in at home, his family has said.

The child returned home a few weeks ago and was “happy to be home, playing with his toys, sleeping in his own bed and being a big brother”, his parents said in an update posted online.

The child was allegedly thrown into one of the crocodile enclosures at the zoo, Johnsons of Old Hurst, near Huntingdon in Cambridgeshire, on 18 June.

A 30-year-old man from Norfolk was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after the incident and was later released on bail as police said he was “assessed as not being fit for interview”.

In an update shared on a GoFundMe page on Monday, the boy’s family said it was “nice to have us all back together in the comfort of our own home”.

The fundraising page was set up to support the family financially and help the boy’s recovery and rehabilitation. It has raised more than £113,000 to date.

“Now that we are home, our son’s rehabilitation journey continues and we can focus on ensuring our son has the best possible chance at recovery,” his parents said in an update posted on GoFundMe.

“Both of us will continue to stay by our son’s side as we support him on his rehabilitation journey. We attend the hospital frequently to find out the next steps and we work on them together as a family.

“All of his immediate surgeries are over with for now, which means we can now focus on rehabilitation at home.”

They said the money donated so far “has supported us financially to cover immediate costs such as our bills and mortgage”, and “also allowed us to cover our loss of wages during this time”.

In a previous update, the family said the boy had undergone seven operations.