Some people bring teddy bears or grapes when they visit hospital patients – big cat keeper Martin Hill brought an actual tiger.

Martin worked with big cats at Paradise Wildlife Park, near London, for many years, but Indy the tiger proved special as she was an incredibly affectionate animal.

So good-natured was Indy that the pair were able to visit several children’s hospitals across London through CHATA (Children in Hospital and Animal Assisted Therapy).

Martin, who lives in Bexleyheath, said: “For all of us, it was incredible to
witness the overwhelming joy that Indy brought to the children she met on the wards.”

He was inspired to write A Tiger By My Bed when visiting children at Great Ormond Street Hospital in London.

He will be at Waterstones in Bluewater on Saturday, November 5 at 1pm, signing copies of the book, which includes fun- to-learn tiger facts, while a percentage of the book’s cost goes to protecting tigers in the wild.

Martin continues to look after the big cats at Paradise Wildlife Park.