AN eyewitness has told how a Sumatran tiger 'pounced' on a zoo keeper, an inquest heard today.

Gareth Bell, from Newcastle, was visting the South Lakes Safari Zoo at Dalton-in-Furness with his family on the afternoon of Friday, May 24, 2013.

Through a public viewing window into the Tiger House, he told the hearing he witnessed park staff member Sarah Louise McClay, 24, being attacked.

Mr Bell claimed that a door inside the Tiger House - known as D2 - was open at the time of the attack.

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The tiger emerged from its dark den into a staff corridor where witnessess have suggested Miss McClay, from Barrow, could have been cleaning up, the inquest heard.

Barrow Borough Council claimed at the inquest on Monday that the bolt to door D2 - effectively locking the tiger in the Dark Den - was 'defective'.

The door leads to the corridor where staff members could freely move.

However, counsel for park owner Mr David Gill have suggested it is not clear whether the bolt on D2 was defective on the day, or whether it became defective as a result of activity through the Tiger House during the subsequent investigation following Miss McClay's death.

Speaking from the witness box and wearing a suit and tie, Mr Bell said Miss Clay, appeared to 'stumble' and said it was as if the 'tiger had turned round and didn't expect her to be there and pounced.' 

He also said she 'screamed'.

The tiger - Padang, an 11-year-old male Sumatran species - then 'dragged her' into the dark den by 'the back of her neck', said Mr Bell who had also spotted another tiger in the neighbouring light den, and began shouting for help to raise the alarm.

Mr Bell's wife, Mary also told the inquest she and friends were slightly ahead of her husband as he looked through the viewing window.

Mrs Bell said she had seen a small, dark-haired female with her hair tied up, sweeping up in the light den earlier.

"I didn't take any notice," said Mrs Bell. "I think I said: 'Eeh, she's brave being in there with them and my husband said 'well, that's their job.'

As the group walked past and her husband stayed behind, Mrs Bell she became aware of him 'shouting for help'.

A second witness, Nona Usher, from Northumberland, told the inquest that when she was at the Tiger House,  as far as she was aware all the doors were locked.

She told today's inquest she believes her husband had a conversation with Miss McClay a little time before the attack.

Mrs Usher believes a keeper she later recognised in a newspaper as Miss McClay had been cleaning in the corridor.

Later, her husband had asked if they were going to feed the tigers and Mrs Usher said: "We had a lovely conversation (with the woman) about how they didn't feed the tigers for three days."

Mrs Usher went further, describing the tigers she had seen as 'on a mission' and had watched it going in and out of the neighbouring Light Den as Miss Clay had a bucket in her hand.

"It was pacing backwards and forwards. It was going in and out." I said to my husband 'should that tiger be in there when she's in there?'.

Mrs Usher said as they wandered through the park she later became aware of an incident. 'There was a gentleman screaming that 'the tiger's got the girl'.