A big cat enclosure at a Suffolk zoo has been destroyed by Storm Eunice.

Winds brought down a tree which ripped through fencing at Africa Alive!'s lion enclosure.

The damage has forced the zoo to close until Monday (February 21) at the earliest while the damage can be repaired.

However the predators did not escape their enclosure as they had been moved elsewhere prior to the storm.

Graeme Williamson, head of living collections at Zoological Society of East Anglia, said: “In preparation for Storm Eunice we had reverted to our adverse weather condition policy which takes effect in any wind speeds of 40 miles per hour or more.

"This meant all of our dangerous animals had been confined to their internal housing before the storm came through.

"Our three male lions Zero, Tor and Jabu, and our lionesses Mo, Sarabi and Kaya have been safe in their internal housing throughout the storm.

“Our lions’ health and welfare is our paramount concern, and our dedicated keepers will go above and beyond to care for them and monitor their behaviours until their enclosure can be fixed.”

Claudia Roberts, chief executive at the Zoological Society of East Anglia, said: “Due to the serious storm damage at Africa Alive! we will be closed over the weekend and on Monday while we assess the damage.

"This will give us time to start arranging the specialist repairs which will need to be done to the lion’s enclosure fencing."

Africa Alive! advised that anyone with tickets booked for the impacted days will be able to use them within the next six months once the zoo reopens.

A further announcement will be made on Monday to determine when Africa Alive! will reopen.

Banham Zoo also suffered minor damage but hopes to reopen on Sunday (February 20).

There are currently no customer services teams on site at either Africa Alive! or Banham Zoo so people have been advised to wait for further announcements regarding the reopening of both zoos before turning up.