{"id":99141,"date":"2026-08-07T10:00:12","date_gmt":"2026-08-07T10:00:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/99141\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T10:00:12","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T10:00:12","slug":"eerie-photos-show-crocodile-enclosure-weeks-after-boy-3-was-thrown-in","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/99141\/","title":{"rendered":"Eerie photos show crocodile enclosure weeks after boy, 3, was &#8216;thrown in&#8217;"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>It has been nearly two months since police were called to the Johnsons of Old Hurst zoo in Cambs reports of an incident involving a three-year-old boy at the crocodile enclosure<\/p>\n<p>05:04, 07 Aug 2026Updated 05:07, 07 Aug 2026<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Johnsons of Old Hurst, in Cambs. \" loading=\"eager\"  src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/2_Crocodile-enclosure-near-empty-of-visitors-at-zoo-where-boy-was-injured.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p aria-label=\"Johnsons of Old Hurst, in Cambs. \" class=\"ImageCaption_caption-title__ccyQU\" data-testid=\"caption-title\">Johnsons of Old Hurst, in Cambs. (Image: SWNS)<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">Eerie photographs show the near-deserted crocodile enclosure where a <a aria-label=\"\" class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.mirror.co.uk\/news\/uk-news\/devastated-family-boy-3-thrown-37386780\" rel=\"follow nofollow noopener\" tabindex=\"0\" target=\"_self\">three year old boy was seriously injured earlier this summer.<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">Dozens of families were visiting the Johnsons of Old Hurst zoo in Cambs this week at the peak of the school holidays. However only a few ventured into the Tropical House where the un-named suffered serous injuries after being bitten by at least one crocodile.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">A visitor, who spent ten minutes in the house, saw just one adult accompanied by a young child, believed to be around seven, while families with prams walked straight past.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"The Tropical House at Johnsons of Old Hurst, in Cambs\" loading=\"lazy\"  src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/0_Crocodile-enclosure-near-empty-of-visitors-at-zoo-where-boy-was-injured.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p aria-label=\"The Tropical House at Johnsons of Old Hurst, in Cambs\" class=\"ImageCaption_caption-title__ccyQU\" data-testid=\"caption-title\">The Tropical House at Johnsons of Old Hurst, in Cambs(Image: SWNS)<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">In images and footage taken inside, usually busy elevated walkways with safety fencing are empty and the atmosphere was described as &#8220;quiet and sombre&#8221;. Signage both inside and outside the Tropical House says children must be supervised at all times and warns against carrying them on shoulders or handrails.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">The building is home to multiple crocodile species including Nile, Saltwater, and Siamese.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">The visitor said the rest of the zoo, which includes a steakhouse, tea room, and shop, was busy with families during the school holidays.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Not a visitor in sight\" loading=\"lazy\"  src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1786096811_68_0_Crocodile-enclosure-near-empty-of-visitors-at-zoo-where-boy-was-injured.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p aria-label=\"Not a visitor in sight\" class=\"ImageCaption_caption-title__ccyQU\" data-testid=\"caption-title\">Not a visitor in sight(Image: SWNS)<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">Police were called to the family-run zoo on June 18 to reports of an incident involving a three-year-old boy, during which he ended up in the crocodile enclosure. A 30-year-old man, believed to have learning difficulties and on a day out with his carers, was arrested but released on bail after being deemed not fit for interview.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">Owner Tracey Johnson, 55, was hailed as a hero after she dashed into the crocodile pen to retrieve the boy despite the presence of at least two large Nile crocodiles.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">Chris Newman, 67, director of the National Centre for Reptile Welfare, described Tracey as &#8220;a very courageous and brave lady&#8221;. The boy, who has not been identified, is now stable following the incident but has been a patient at Addenbrookes Hospital in Cambridge for around six weeks.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"It had mostly just a few adult zoo-goers during the peak of the summer season this week.\" loading=\"lazy\"  src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1786096812_242_0_Crocodile-enclosure-near-empty-of-visitors-at-zoo-where-boy-was-injured.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p aria-label=\"It had mostly just a few adult zoo-goers during the peak of the summer season this week.\" class=\"ImageCaption_caption-title__ccyQU\" data-testid=\"caption-title\">It had mostly just a few adult zoo-goers during the peak of the summer season this week.(Image: SWNS)<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">His family has said the tot underwent a nerve graft on his left arm and they hope it will help him to regain function in his hand.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">They also revealed he had undergone a gruelling 12-hour surgery shortly after the incident in which he suffered severe tissue damage in both his arms, neck, head and face.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">In a statement posted by the boy&#8217;s grandmother, the family said: &#8220;We were unsure if our son was going to make it and that was the worst feeling in the <a aria-label=\"\" class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.mirror.co.uk\/news\/world-news\/\" rel=\"follow nofollow noopener\" tabindex=\"0\" target=\"\">world<\/a>. The cheeky little boy that we love so much is talking to the nurses, playing using his feet and smiling again. We are amazed at how far he has come.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">Norfolk County Council has launched an inquiry under the Care Act 2014 although they did not provide any care for the man arrested. The Section 42 inquiry is a statutory safeguarding process to protect adults with care and support needs from abuse or neglect.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">A GoFundMe has been set up to support the boy&#8217;s recovery and rehabilitation, as well as to provide the family with financial stability while they support him in hospital and throughout the coming months.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">You can donate to the GoFundMe page by clicking <a aria-label=\"\" class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.gofundme.com\/f\/helping-the-family-of-3yr-old-injured-in-crocodile-enclosure \" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" tabindex=\"0\" target=\"_self\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It has been nearly two months since police were called to the Johnsons of Old Hurst zoo in&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":99142,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[4],"tags":[3434,41901,1224,5,6,41900],"class_list":["post-99141","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-uk","tag-animals","tag-crocodiles","tag-hospitals","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-zoos"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99141","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=99141"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99141\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/99142"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=99141"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=99141"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=99141"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}