Yorkshire Willdlife Park visitor relives tiger attack horror – 'I tried to look away but I couldn't'

Yorkshire Willdlife Park visitor relives tiger attack horror – 'I tried to look away but I couldn't' WARNING, DISTRESSING CONTENT: Ella Ford, 24, was visiting Yorkshire Wildlife Park with her boyfriend when she witnessed William Chapman enter the tiger enclosure, she has now recalled the horror that followed A woman has recalled the moments before a tiger fatally mauled a man to death in a harrowing incident at Yorkshire Wildlife Park last weekend. Ella Ford, 24, was visiting the park with her boyfriend when she saw William Chapman enter the tiger enclosure. Emergency services rushed to the wildlife park shortly after 1.30pm on Saturday, October 10, but Mr Chapman was pronounced dead at the scene. The park remains closed and a reopening date has yet to be confirmed. Ella, was at the park on Saturday and noticed Mr Chapman pacing around the animal enclosure before he entered it. She has now described the events leading up to the 23-year-old's death. She recalls members of the public desperately scrambled to get help as the tiger launched its attack. She said one man tried to scare the animal away by banging on the fence, but the tiger appeared unfazed and "took no notice". Keepers managed to frighten away Altai, the tiger, by firing gas-powered acoustic guns into the air, causing him to retreat to a nearby shelter. Ella told the LiverpoolEcho: "It's all a bit of a blur. I tried to look away but I couldn't. I just remember hearing people say 'Oh my God.' "Everyone was trying to get their kids away because they knew what was about to happen." Recalling the horrific incident, Ella said Mr Chapman climbed into the habitat and crawled towards a tiger resting nearby. She said her boyfriend saw Mr Chapman take out his phone and move towards the animal. In a statement, his family said that he had suffered from "significant mental illness" over a number of years and had been prescribed "strong medication". "It will be for the coroner to decide what part this played in his death. We would ask everybody to respect that process", a statement released on Tuesday evening by the family read. The family also asked for privacy, saying "the publication and circulation of deeply offensive media content is causing them severe distress at an exceptionally vulnerable time". The statement added: "William was a bright, warm and engaging young man whom his family dearly loved - and William loved them back". It comes after Donald Trump shared a video showing the animal biting and clawing at the man, though not the actual killing. He then went one step further, sharing an AI video of himself wrestling with a tiger with 'In The Jungle' playing in the background. In the video, posted on Truth Social, Trump chases the tiger before they end up embracing. The president's posts have been heavily criticised, with the Jeremy Vine show's Carole Malone among those calling it "offensive". Piers Morgan said: "This is appallingly tasteless. Delete it, President Trump." South Yorkshire Mayor Oliver Coppard said the President had used AI to "mock the incident and the pain felt by the family". It comes as a witness who took Mr Chapman's final photograph fought back tears as she pleaded with "not very nice" trolls to think before they post. Del Taylor asked people joking about the attack online to "think about why maybe he'd do something like this". An emotional Ms Taylor said it was "upsetting" to know she had taken the last photograph of him, and hit out at "not very nice" and "presumptuous" comments online. In a video posted on TikTok she said: "I've seen a lot of speculation online about this person, this man, and a lot of it is not very nice, very presumptuous. "I just wish people would take a moment to think about why maybe he'd do something like this. Maybe it was a lack of danger, awareness of danger. I just feel if somebody had seen this man like myself and a few other people had that day, and you'd seen him dancing his way up and down the bridge with his AirPods in. "He was so happy. And then he's come and placed himself next to us and he's passed me his phone, and he's asked me for his photo, and if you'd have seen him, without saying too much, you would understand why I'm saying what I'm saying." She continued: "It's so upsetting to think that apart from that awful viral video of him being attacked by the tiger online that the last photo of that man probably alive is the one that I've taken on his phone for him. But, I'm just asking people to keep a broader mind on what's happened." The family of William Chapman released a statement yesterday evening through South Yorkshire Police. They said: "William was a bright, warm and engaging young man whom his family dearly loved - and William loved them back. "Sadly, William suffered from significant mental illness over a number of years and was consequently prescribed strong medication. It will be for the coroner to decide what part this played in his death. We would ask everybody to respect that process. "The family are utterly devastated by their loss and are struggling to come to terms with what has happened. The publication and circulation of deeply offensive media content is causing them severe distress at an exceptionally vulnerable time. We ask people to stop doing this. "The family are hopeful that the relevant authorities will do their utmost to get to the bottom of why our amazing son did what he did. In the meantime, please do not approach the family, their addresses, or scrape any further social media from William’s or his family’s accounts." An inquest is scheduled to open into Chapman's death tomorrow at Doncaster Coroner's Court, Civic Office, Waterdale. 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