Walker reports 'big cat' sighting

Shropshire's notorious big cat has been spotted again prowling the county, this time by a man walking his dog along a busy Shrewsbury road.

Chris Hill said he was shocked when he saw the "black panther" run out in front of him and jump over the footpath near Cineworld at 8.50am.

He said there was no question that the animal was a panther and said it was about three times the size of a domestic cat.

"I was just walking my dog along Old Potts Way when it came from the side of the path and jumped about eight foot before it disappeared again.

"The river is just the other side of the path, so maybe it had been down there having a drink," added Mr Hill.

The pet owner added: "I was a sceptic before, but there is no doubt about it now in my mind. The dog went berserk when it saw the panther, but it just ran away. It was about a metre long."

There have been numerous sightings of the black cat around Shropshire during the past 18 years.

David Millington, at Wroxeter Roman Vineyard, said he had captured a sighting of the creature on his CCTV cameras in December last year.

Witnesses in Bomere Heath, Bridgnorth and Carding Mill Valley claim to have seen the mystery beast.

The one and only proven case of a big cat in Shropshire came in 1989 when the body of an Asian jungle cat was found not far from Ludlow.