Man takes on croc that eyed his wife

London: A man jumped on top of a crocodile and poked its eyes to rescue his wife from its jaws.

As Wendy Pethrick, 36, struggled to prise open the six foot reptile's jaws, she screamed for help.

Without hesitating, Norm Moreen, 39, leapt on to the crocodile as it was about to go into a "death roll" in a creek in Australia's Northern Territory and poked its eyes until it let her go. The mother of three escaped with eight deep puncture wounds to her thigh and a severe cut to a finger.

From her hospital bed, Pethrick said yesterday: "I'm lucky to be alive - thanks to Norm."