Australian crocodile attacks camper in tent

Peter Roswell said he awoke to something 'shaking' his right leg

Mr Rowsell sustained puncture wounds to his lower right leg (Getty)

An Australian camper is recovering after being attacked by a crocodile while in his tent.

Peter Rowsell was on a fishing trip with his family in the Daly region of Australia’s Northern Territory when the reptile grabbed his foot in the early hours of Monday morning.

Mr Roswell told ABC, he awoke to something “shaking” his right leg and described the animal as “three to four metres long”.

In what has been described as a “lucky” escape, Mr Roswell was able to fight off the crocodile before it returned to the water.

The nineteen-year-old’s family immediately drove him to a hospital in Katherine, around two hours away from their campsite, where he remains in a stable condition.

Mr Rowsell sustained puncture wounds to his lower right leg and is being given antibiotics due to the bacteria in the crocodile’s mouth, an NT health department spokeswoman told Guardian Australia.

None of his injuries were life threatening, but the spokeswoman said Mr Rowsell had been “very lucky”.

The Northern Territory Government estimates the national crocodile population is around 100,000 and the creatures kill around two people a year in Australia.

Last year, the National Parks department launched an awareness campaign calling on Australian residents to be “crocwise”.

Mr Roswell said his tent was 15m from the water’s edge at the time of the incident, however authorities say campers should be at least 50m away from the water’s edge.

In December saltwater crocodiles were reportedly seen swimming in floodwater in the Northern Territories, with some residents claiming the creatures dragged dogs into the excess rain water.

Last year, Australia proposed plans to allow wealthy individuals to hunt saltwater crocodiles, suggesting people may pay up to £15,000 to kill the reptiles in the Northern Territories.