Boy attacked by crocodile at Cambridgeshire zoo ‘smiling again’ – parents

The parents of a three-year-old boy who was attacked by a crocodile in his backyard have been surprised by his progress and are “smiling again”.

The boy was visiting the Johnsons of Old Hearst, near Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, on June 18 when he was attacked by at least one of the animals.

“Four weeks later and the cheeky little boy we love so much is talking to the nurses, using his legs to play and smiling again,” his parents wrote in a post on the fundraising page.

Police have arrested and bailed a 30-year-old man from Norfolk on suspicion of attempted murder.

The boy’s parents recalled arriving at Addenbrooke’s Hospital and having “the worst 12 hours” of their lives after the attack, where they “signed consent forms that included stimulation and amputation”.

They said he had injuries on his hands, neck, head, face and broken bones.

The boy has since undergone seven operations, the most recent of which the surgeons completed “nerve theft in his hand”.

“They harvested a nerve from his leg to replace the missing part of the nerve in his left arm,” his parents said on the fundraising page, which has so far raised more than £67,000.

“Over time, we hope that this nerve will allow our child to perform some functions in his left hand.

“We won’t know if the nerve graft was successful until tests can be done in a few months.

“We weren’t sure if our son would make it and it was the worst feeling in the world.

“We’re amazed at how far he’s come.”