A three-year-old boy thrown into a crocodile enclosure at a Cambridgeshire zoo suffered a broken arm and pelvis in the fall, with witnesses left in tears after watching the zoo owner’s wife leap into the pit to pull him to safety.
The boy was looking at reptiles inside the tropical house at Johnsons of Old Hurst, near Huntingdon, when he was thrown approximately 15ft from an elevated viewing platform into the enclosure below. Tracey Johnson, who runs the zoo with her husband Andy, rescued the child, who remains in a critical but stable condition at Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge. It is not yet clear whether all of his injuries resulted from the fall itself or whether he was also attacked by one of the animals inside the enclosure, which is home to at least 15 crocodiles and alligators, including two of the largest, Nile crocodiles named Romeo and Cuddles, both believed to measure between 9ft and 11ft.
A 30-year-old man from Norfolk, understood to be a stranger to the boy, has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder. Some reports suggest the man has a mental disability and had been at the zoo with a carer at the time of the incident, though this has not been officially confirmed by police.
Andy Johnson, 56, who runs the zoo with his wife and their two sons George and Edward, said the family’s “thoughts and prayers are with the boy and his family.” In a statement, he added: “Out of respect, our tropical house will remain closed until further notice. The rest of the site will remain open.” The couple are experienced animal handlers, having previously been pictured manually transporting crocodiles weighing up to 400lbs alongside zoo staff.
One villager said staff at the zoo were seen hugging each other and crying in the aftermath of the incident. Local councillor Charlotte Lowe said she struggled to understand how the boy ended up in the enclosure given the site’s safety measures. “I can’t fathom how this happened. There is all sorts of protection at the zoo including perspex screens,” she said. “The only place where people can get over into the enclosure is the walkways which have fencing around them at chest height. I don’t see how a child could have gone in accidentally.” Nearby resident Mike Annicelli, 52, described similar safety features, saying the fencing made it “impossible for people to fall in accidentally” and that it would be “hard for a kid to climb over it, like a small kid.”
The incident has drawn comparisons to a notorious 2019 attack at the Tate Modern in London, in which a six-year-old French tourist was thrown 100ft from a viewing platform by teenager Jonty Bravery. The boy survived but suffered life-changing injuries. Bravery was jailed for life with a minimum term of 15 years for attempted murder and remains held at Broadmoor high-security psychiatric hospital.
Cambridgeshire Constabulary confirmed officers were called to the zoo at 1.24pm following reports of the incident. A force spokesman said: “The boy has been taken to Addenbrooke’s Hospital with serious injuries and is critical but stable. Officers are at the hospital supporting the boy’s family. A 30-year-old man from Norfolk has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder.” Detective Inspector Verity McCann of the force’s major crime unit added: “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. We do not believe the man arrested and the child are known to each other.”
Police and Crime Commissioner for Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, Darryl Preston, said: “My thoughts go out to the family of the little boy involved in this truly horrific incident. I can only begin to imagine the trauma those involved are going through.” He confirmed he had been briefed by Chief Constable Simon Megicks but declined to comment further given the ongoing operational nature of the case.
Two police cars remained parked outside the zoo’s entrance into Thursday evening, with a uniformed officer guarding the main gate near the Johnson family’s farmhouse home. Johnsons of Old Hurst is home to more than 100 animals across 12.5 acres of woodland and 320 acres of pasture, with its crocodile collection — now numbering around 50 — having originally been kept to dispose of waste meat from the family’s butchery business before growing into a wider attraction. The site’s tropical house contains nine different crocodilian species, including the saltwater crocodile, one of just two species, alongside the Nile crocodile, responsible for the vast majority of human fatalities caused by crocodilians worldwide.
A Huntingdonshire District Council spokesperson said: “We are aware of the serious incident that has taken place today at Johnson’s of Old Hurst. Our thoughts are with the young boy and his family at this very difficult time. We are working closely with partners, including Cambridgeshire Police. We urge people not to speculate on the circumstances surrounding this incident while inquiries are ongoing.”
