Zoo worker jumped into crocodile enclosure to save injured boy, BBC told

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BBC A crocodile with its mouth open in an enclosure near a wooden walkway going through the centre

The owner of a zoo where a three-year-old boy was critically injured in the crocodile enclosure said his wife jumped in to save the youngster.

Andy Johnson, who runs Johnsons of Old Hurst, near Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, told the BBC his wife, Tracey, entered the area to try and rescue the boy, who remains in a critical but stable condition in hospital.

Cambridgeshire Police was called at 13:24 BST on Thursday and is investigating whether it was the fall or an animal attack that injured the boy.

The youngster was taken to Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge and "remains in critical but stable condition" on Friday, the force added.

A spokesperson for Johnsons said its thoughts and prayers were with the boy and his family.

They added the site's Tropical House, which contains the crocodile enclosure, had been closed "out of respect to the family".

Zoo staff were seen arriving at the site earlier.

The inside of a crocodile enclosure at a zoo. There are bodies of water for the animals as well as foliage and plants. There is a walk way through the middle of the enclosure lined with fences.

They are kept in a converted cattle barn, which has metal-fenced elevated walkways looking down on large pools of water surrounded by tropical vegetation.

To celebrate the 20th anniversary of the first farm shop, a new museum at the site was due to open with a special weekend event starting on Saturday. It is unclear if the opening will go ahead.

On Thursday, police said they were speaking to people who were at the zoo at the time of the incident.

"We do not believe the man arrested and the child are known to each other," a police spokesperson said.

Huntingdon MP Ben Obese-Jecty urged people to "refrain from speculation online" and said police were treating it as a "critical incident".

Sam Read/BBC A uniformed police office stands in front of a bricked barn has a car park outside the front on the left. There is a fence on the right which opens into a court yard and there are signs on the door. There is a police car parked in the car park.

A Magpas Air Ambulance spokesperson said a critical care team attended the incident at 13:42 and "treated one patient at the scene before taking them to hospital".

According to its website, Johnsons of Old Hurst is a farming business that now features a butchers, a farm shop, tea room, steakhouse and zoo.

It says it "houses over 100 fascinating animals" including crocodiles, African lions and a Bengal tiger.