Parents of toddler, 3, attacked by crocodile share update on his condition

A fundraising page set up to support the boy’s recovery and rehabilitation has now raised more than £25,000

A three-year-old boy who was seriously injured after allegedly being thrown into a crocodile enclosure has underwent five surgeries, and faces more, his family has revealed. The incident happened at Johnson’s of Old Hurst, near Huntingdon, on June 18.

The injured boy, who has not been publicly named, underwent “five surgeries” following the incident, and is set to undergo “at least two more surgeries”, his family stated.

A fundraising page set up to support the boy’s recovery and rehabilitation, as well as to provide the family with financial stability while they are “living at the hospital”, has now raised more than £25,000.

In an update from the toddler’s parents, posted on the fundraising page, they said: “We are extremely grateful for everyone’s generosity. We could never thank you enough for the support you have given our family in this horrible time.

“We have been living at the hospital for 2 weeks now and our son has undergone 5 surgeries. At this moment in time we know that our son is to undergo at least two more surgeries, one of those surgeries being a nerve reconstruction in his arm.”

A 30-year-old man from Norfolk was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder following the incident. He has been released on bail after being found not to be fit for interview.

They said these last two weeks have been a “very uncertain and unsettling time” for them. The parents continued: “His rehabilitation journey is uncertain but we do know that it won’t be a short process. The money that has been donated so far has been used to pay for our expenses. We are both currently away from work and the time in which this will need to be the case is unknown.”

The donations have helped to ease the family’s pressure of these expenses and the parents are “extremely grateful” to everyone. Further donations will be used to support the toddler’s rehabilitation and to “give back to the hospital who have helped us in many ways during this challenging time”, they said.

In a statement, Johnsons of Old Hurst said they were “alerted to reports that a child has allegedly been thrown into one of our crocodile enclosures in the Tropical House”. The statement continued: “Everyone who was on site that day acted with incredible speed and determination.

“Within minutes of the first radio call, the child has been rescued from the enclosure and was receiving first aid. The emergency services arrived very quickly, supported by the MAGPAS Air Ambulance, and we cannot thank them enough for their professionalism, compassion and dedication in such difficult circumstances.”