Teacher hurt in attack by elephant

A teacher had a lucky escape after an elephant flipped over the car she was travelling in while in a national park in South Africa.

Sarah Brooks, who works at the Sir John Gleed School in Spalding, Lincolnshire, is thought to have been stabbed in the leg by the elephant’s tusk as it attacked the car.

Video footage has emerged on YouTube of the incident after it was filmed by passengers in a car behind Ms Brooks, who is thought to have been with her partner, at the Kruger National Park in South Africa on December 30.

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It shows the animal walking in front of the car before turning to face it, walking around to the side of the car, then flipping it over using the strength of its head, trunk, and tusks.

Ms Brooks is thought to have been treated in hospital for her injuries before being discharged.

Will Scott, headteacher at the Sir John Gleed School, said: “We are all shocked by what has happened to Sarah and we wish her a full and speedy recovery.”

William Mabasa, general manager at Kruger National Park, told the BBC the male elephant has been destroyed after the incident.

He said they discovered the animal had been “on musth”, a periodic condition where testosterone levels rise and elephants become more aggressive.