Woman who saved boy from crocodile praised
SuppliedA woman who jumped into a crocodile enclosure to save a three-year-old boy has been praised for her bravery.
Cambridgeshire Police was called to Johnsons of Old Hurst, near Huntingdon, on Thursday at 13:24 BST after reports that the boy had been attacked by at least one of the animals.
A 30-year-old man arrested on suspicion of attempted murder has been bailed and was "unfit for interview", police said earlier.
Chris Newman, director of the National Centre For Reptile Welfare, told the BBC that Tracey Johnson, the wife of the zoo owner, had pulled the boy out from the enclosure and showed "remarkable bravery".
"I know Tracey very well and she's a lovely lady and it's nothing more than I'd expect from her," he said.
"She'd always put her own life at risk to save someone else. She's an extraordinary lady and very brave."
He added that he had been told Johnson was not injured.
"She put herself in immense danger... I'm not sure if she was up and jumped in or if she was downstairs doing something with the animals when this happened," he added.
The boy, who was from Cambridgeshire, remained in a critical but stable condition at Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge.
He had been visiting the zoo with his family and sustained serious injuries "while in the enclosure" and was pulled out by zoo staff, police said.
Officers have been working to establish how long he was in the enclosure and a police spokesperson said the crocodiles had not been seized or killed.
The man who has been arrested is from Norfolk, reportedly has learning disabilities and had been on a trip to the farm-cum-zoo with carers.
A spokesperson for Johnsons said on Thursday their thoughts and prayers were with the boy and his family.
They added that the site's Tropical House, which contained the crocodile enclosure, had been closed "out of respect to the family".
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