Two East Anglian zoos, which last year found themselves at the centre of a redundancy controversy, have hired a new CEO, after their previous boss resigned over “wide-spread abuse” from the public.

The Zoological Society of East Anglia (ZSEA), which runs Banham Zoo in Norfolk and Africa Alive near Lowestoft, confirmed Ian Bartlett had been appointed as its new interim CEO.

Mr Bartlett, who’s previous roles include CEO of Longleat Safari Park in Wiltshire and head of operations at airport lounge firm No1 Lounges, said he was looking forward to updating the public on the company’s “plans for the future”.

Eastern Daily Press: Claudia Roberts quit as the director of ZSEA last year after she said she received abuseClaudia Roberts quit as the director of ZSEA last year after she said she received abuse (Image: ZSEA)

The two attractions have been without a CEO since ZSEA’s former-director Claudia Roberts quit last December.

She claimed the decision was motivated by the public reaction to redundancies made across the two zoos, which saw 10pc of staff lose their jobs.

The company said that “relentless” cost increases had led to the job cuts, with “significant savings” required to keep the parks open.