A boy of three was seriously injured after being thrown into a crocodile pit at a zoo yesterday.
The traumatised youngster was taken to hospital after he was dramatically pulled from the enclosure.
Last night witnesses said the little boy’s rescuer was Tracey Johnson, wife of the zoo’s owner Andy Johnson.
A man of 30 was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder, according to the Daily Mail report.
Police said they do not believe that the suspect and the victim knew each other. The child was said to be in a critical but stable condition.
The shocking incident took place in front of horrified visitors inside the tropical reptile house at Johnsons of Old Hurst, near Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire.
The zoo is run by fourth-generation farmer Mr Johnson, his wife and their sons George and Edward.
A zoo spokesman said: ‘Our thoughts and prayers are with the boy and his family following the incident that occurred today.’
Johnsons of Old Hurst is a family-owned zoo with a farm shop, tea room and steakhouse
Police refused to be drawn on how the child ended up in the enclosure, which is a 15ft drop below a walkway, or provide any details about how he was rescued.
They are understood to be investigating whether the child was attacked by the animals before he was pulled out.
Father-of-two Mike Annicelli, 52, who also lives close to the zoo, described the crocodile enclosure, saying: ‘Everything is elevated, you’re far away from the animals.
‘There are some areas which have plastic glass so people can look through – but there is also 4ft fencing around the walkway so it is impossible for people to fall in accidentally.
‘Because of the way that railing’s set up it would be hard for a kid to climb over it, like a small kid.’
One villager said they saw staff at the zoo hugging each other and some were in tears after the incident.
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Local councillor Charlotte Lowe, 52, said: ‘I can’t fathom how this happened. There is all sorts of protection at the zoo including perspex screens.
‘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.’
The zoo’s website states its tropical house, a converted barn, is home to American alligator, broad-snouted caiman, Cuvier’s dwarf caiman, Morelet’s crocodile, Nile crocodile, saltwater crocodile, Siamese crocodile, spectacled caiman and West African dwarf crocodile. The largest of these species is the saltwater crocodile, which is found between India and Australia, and can grow up to 20ft long and weigh 3,300lbs – half the weight of a large SUV.
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