Paw prints awaken rumours of big cat

Is this evidence a big cat is roaming Shropshire? Pensioner Thomas Perry believes these prints found on his car outside his Telford home could back up claims the mysterious beast is alive and well and living in the county.

Mr Perry, of Millward Close, Donnington, discovered the giant paw prints on his Renault Grand Scenic on Monday evening.

Take a closer look on the photo links below

He said: "The pad measures about 3in across. There were about eight of the paw prints on the bonnet of the car. It was like the animal had stood on its back legs and put its front paws on the bonnet.

"You could see an indentation at the top of the paw where a claw would have been, but the car hadn't been scratched."

He also discovered another paw mark near the top of the passenger door, suggesting whatever left the mark must have been a large animal.

Mr Perry said he did not know when the paw prints had been left.

"I drove the car during the day on Monday, but it was quite bright so I didn't notice anything," he said. "They might have been left at night or over the weekend."

Shropshire and Telford in particular has long been thought of as a big cat hotspot - the Big Cats in Britain group has put Telford in its national top 10 for sightings.

Just last month, Carol Woodhouse saw a black animal disappearing into the trees at Apley woods.

In April, gamekeeper Neil Swain discovered a track of mysterious paw prints on land at Eyton, north of Telford.

In March, Shropshire Star reader Sarah Leeder spotted a large black panther-like creature on the Silkin Way near Apley Woods and motorist Kulwir Rana described how he spotted a "big black cat" as he drove along Hadley Road.

Danny Bamping, of the British Big Cats Society, said: "Anything is possible - there have been sightings around that area for years."

By Jo Cunningham

A 50p piece shows the size of the paw prints left on Mr Perry's car.

Thomas Perry, from Donnington, with his car covered in large paw prints.