earful witnesses have described seeing a three-year-old boy being tossed into a crocodile pit at a British zoo by a man with learning difficulties before the owner’s ‘heroic’ wife leapt in to rescue him.

Tracey Johnson apparently pulled the child to safety. He remains in a critical but stable condition after suffering a broken arm and pelvis in the incident in Cambridgeshire yesterday.

A 30-year-old man from Norfolk, believed to be a stranger to the victim, was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder.

But he has already been released on bail until September 18 having been assessed as ‘not being fit for interview,’ police said today.

The attacker was a ‘mentally disabled’ man who was at the zoo on an organised day out from his home with a carer, according to some reports.

The boy had been looking at the reptiles when he was thrown around 15ft from an elevated viewing platform down into the Johnsons of Old Hurst tropical house near Huntingdon.

One expert believes he probably landed on a concrete surface and then rolled into the water.

The enclosure contains at least 15 crocodiles and alligators, including two of the largest – Nile crocodiles called Romeo and Cuddles. Both are believed to measure between 9ft and 11ft, with Romeo, the male, weighing up to 485lbs.

It is not yet known whether the boy sustained all his injuries from the fall or if he was also attacked by one of the animals – but an expert has confirmed that if the child fell next to a crocodile he will have been bitten.

Chris Newman, 67, director of the National Centre for Reptile Welfare who has housed crocodiles at the zoo and spent time inside the enclosure, said: ‘If a child landed next to a crocodile, I absolutely would expect that animal to react and snap.

‘The crocodiles are incredibly well fed, so I wouldn’t expect them to eat a child, but it would bite a child if it landed on it or by it. That’s where the trouble would come – they have such a powerful bite. Even an investigatory bite would be catastrophic.

‘But my suspicion is that the injuries were caused by the child falling 15ft on to concrete and sort of rolled into the water.’ He added: ‘You couldn’t fall or be pushed into it – you would have to be thrown.’

Chris spoke about owner Tracey Johnson, who reportedly jumped into the enclosure to help rescue the boy.

He said: ‘Knowing Tracey, it comes as no surprise that she acted this way – that’s exactly what she would do. She’s a very courageous and brave lady. She has been incredibly heroic. It’s nothing more than I would expect from her.

‘She’s a very strong lady. I know it would have been incredibly difficult. It’s about a fifteen foot drop, so to get in there that quickly and save the child is an incredible act of bravery.

Mr Newman said the attraction is a family-run operation involving ‘a mum and dad, two sons and a daughter-in-law’.

He said the enclosure was so secure that a child could only have ended up inside if they had been deliberately thrown.

He said: ‘It’s a large tropical house with a raised walkway which is about 15ft down.

‘The crocodiles would be on the ground floor and there’s a walkway all the way around the perimeter, with vertical and horizontal safety barriers.’

He also described the venue as ‘a fantastic zoo’ where ‘public safety is a huge part’ of the operation.

Reptile expert Chris Newman said he believed the enclosure was surrounded by a 15ft high walkway which she would have to descended from to rescue the child.

This morning a resident close to the zoo said: ‘Tracey and the other staff were incredibly brave.

‘They all stayed very calm and she went down into the enclosure and was able to rescue the little boy quickly before the crocodiles could harm him.

‘Both she and Andy are very experienced and responsible zoo keepers and wlll both be mortified by what has happened.’

Tracey runs the zoo with her husband Andy, who last night said their ‘thoughts and prayers are with the boy and his family’.

‘Out of respect, our tropical house will remain closed until further notice. The rest of the site will remain open,’ he said in a statement.

The couple are highly experienced animal handlers and have previously been pictured transporting 400lb crocodiles by hand with zoo staff.

The incident unfolded in front of horrified visitors inside the tropical reptile house at Johnsons of Old Hurst, near Huntingdon.

The zoo is run by fourth-generation farmer Mr Johnson, his wife and their sons, George and Edward.

A blog post on the zoo’s website says the crocodiles were initially kept to help dispose of waste meat from the butchery, but they went on to be the start of a zoo.

The zoo is now home to more than 100 animals, including lions, tigers, sloth bears, capybaras, and meerkats.

In an interview with The Sun in 2019, Andy Johnson spoke of various crocodiles, including Cuddles and her brother Romeo.

He said: ‘Cuddles isn’t that cuddly. She took my fingers a few weeks ago.’

He added of Romeo: ‘He loves the back of his leg being tickled – all the skin around their belly and legs is soft.

‘He can’t reach that bit. It keeps him calm.’

Police refused to be drawn on how the child ended up in the enclosure. They are understood to be investigating whether he was attacked by the animals before being pulled out.

A neighbour of the zoo, who asked not to be named, described hearing a ‘lot of sirens’ then an air ambulance arriving.

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.’

The incident has chilling echoes of an incident at the Tate Modern in London in 2019 when a six-year-old French tourist was hurled from an outdoor viewing platform.

He somehow survived the 100ft fall but suffered life-changing injuries.

Disturbed teenager Jonty Bravery was jailed for life with a minimum term of 15 years in 2020 for attempted murder.

He is being held at Broadmoor, a high-security psychiatric hospital in Berkshire.

One villager said they saw staff at the zoo hugging each other and some were in tears after the incident.

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.’

Two police cars were parked outside the zoo entrance last night as a uniformed officer stood guard at the main gate just a few yards from the farmhouse home of Mr and Mrs Johnson.

Mr Johnson, 56, became fascinated with crocodilians during a trip to Florida and adopted several from a private collector.

The site now is said to have a collection of around 50 crocodiles and alligators which are mainly used as an environmentally friendly way of getting rid of dead livestock.

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.

About half of the planet’s 23 species of crocodilians are considered dangerous to humans with the Nile crocodile and the saltwater crocodile responsible for the vast majority of human fatalities.

On Wednesday, the zoo marked International Crocodile Day by posting a picture on social media of one of its inhabitants.

The caption read: ‘Crocodilians are at the very core of our history, our passion and the journey that has shaped Johnsons Zoological Gardens into what it is today.

‘These incredible animals have inspired generations of our family and continue to fascinate visitors from all over the country.’

A Cambridgeshire Constabulary spokesman said: ‘Officers were called to the zoo at 1.24pm to reports of an incident involving a three-year-old boy, during which he ended up in the crocodile enclosure.

‘The boy has been taken to Addenbrooke’s Hospital [in Cambridge] with serious injuries and is critical but stable. Officers are at the hospital supporting the boy’s family. A 30-year-old man from Norfolk has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder.’

Detective Inspector Verity McCann, of the force’s major crime unit, said: ‘At this stage we are speaking to people who were at the zoo at the time of this distressing incident to understand more about the circumstances. We do not believe the man arrested and the child are known to each other.’

Police and Crime Commissioner for Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, Darryl Preston, said: ‘My thoughts go out to the family of the little boy involved in this truly horrific incident. I can only begin to imagine the trauma those involved are going through.

‘While I have been fully briefed by the Chief Constable (Simon Megicks, Cambridgeshire Constabulary), I would like to remind everyone that this is an ongoing operational issue and therefore I am not able to comment any further at this stage.’

A Huntingdonshire District Council spokesman said: ‘We are aware of the serious incident that has taken place today at Johnson’s of Old Hurst.

‘Our thoughts are with the young boy and his family at this very difficult time.

‘We are working closely with partners, including Cambridgeshire Police.

‘We urge people not to speculate on the circumstances surrounding this incident while inquiries are ongoing.’