Knock, knock, who’s there? Alligator bites Florida man after he opens door

A Florida man answering a knock at his front door was promptly bitten by a 9ft long alligator when he opened it to see who was there.

Scot Hollingsworth, of Daytona Beach, told local TV station WKMG that he was watching TV with his wife when he heard a bump at the door and got up to investigate.

“I jumped up and headed over and opened the door, stepped out while trying to reach the lights and barely got out the door and got my leg clamped on and [it] started shaking really violently,” he said.

“It was just total surprise and shock,” he said. “I suspect I surprised the alligator as much as he surprised me.”

Hollingsworth was bitten in the upper thigh and taken to a hospital where he was treated for his injuries. He is expected to make a full recovery.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission found the gator and later euthanised it.

Florida has a large and booming population of alligators which frequently bumps up against the state’s human population as it expands into the state’s swamps and waterlands. Attacks and injuries are rare but do happen.

Last month an 85-year-old woman walking her dog died when an alligator pulled her into a pond in south-east Florida after she tried to defend her pet from attack.