A 3-Year-Old Is Critical After Ending Up In A Crocodile Enclosure At A UK Zoo And A Man Is Arrested

A 30-year-old man from Norfolk has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after a three-year-old boy was seriously injured when he ended up inside the crocodile enclosure at Johnson's of Old Hurst, a family zoo near Huntingdon in Cambridgeshire, England, on Wednesday afternoon.

Cambridgeshire Police were called to the zoo at 1:24 PM local time after reports of the incident.

The boy was taken to Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge with serious injuries.

He is in a critical but stable condition. Officers from the force are at the hospital supporting his family.

The arrested man is in custody. Police have confirmed that they do not believe the man and the child knew each other, the boy and the suspect appear to have had no prior relationship.

The case is being treated as a deliberate act.

"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," Detective Inspector Verity McCann of Cambridgeshire Constabulary said. "We do not believe the man arrested and the child are known to each other. Officers are supporting the boy's family at hospital, and our thoughts remain with them."

Johnson's of Old Hurst describes itself as a working farm and zoo with more than 100 animals, including African lions, Bengal tigers, sloth bears and crocodiles.

The zoo's website states it is located "in the heart of the countryside" in Cambridgeshire.

How the child came to be inside the crocodile enclosure has not been disclosed by police, and the investigation is ongoing.