Panther-type big cat spotted climbing Telford fence

It is the latest reported case of a big cat roaming the town – although none have been backed up by photographs.

Connor Leivers and a friend said they were walking back from Muxton to Donnington when they spotted an unusually large jet black cat with glowing eyes.

Connor claims they saw the mysterious feline on its rear legs climbing a fence on Marshbrook Way before they ran off in fear.

Connor said: "I would describe it as having a long thin tail, jet black, and had yellow reflective eyes.

"This could be a very large concern for a lot of people.

"The cat didn't need to jump up, it reached the top without effort and it also made a loud sound, too loud for it to have been anything small like a domestic cat. What we also thought was strange was that it started climbing up the back of the house, at this moment me and my friend ran and we didn't see it again afterwards.

"It was an unusually large cat-like animal, it was jet black and its eye were glowing."

Sightings of big cats across Shropshire and Mid Wales have sparked intense debate for years.

There are those who believe pumas and panthers roam the countryside and others who say that without evidence the rumours amount to nothing more than a tall tale.

It comes after the Shropshire Star revealed that there were 14 reported sightings to Dyfed-Powys Police in the past five years. And numerous claims of seeing big cats in Shropshire, according to figures obtained under the Freedom of Information Act.

From large paw prints in the snow to a lamb mauled by a "panther" and a "puma" in a field, alleged sightings have taken place in Telford, Oswestry, Meifod and Llanidloes.

Big cats have roamed Britain for hundreds of years, according to believers.

Stories of big cats go back to the 1960s and 1970s when it was legal and fashionable to keep exotic animals as pets.