Essex lion hunt: Couple who made sighting on what they saw

Police in Essex told people to stay indoors on Sunday night after reports that a lion was spotted in a field near Clacton-on-Sea.

Officers called off their search for the animal on Monday afternoon, saying that after extensive investigations they now believed it to either be a large domestic cat or a wildcat.

Denise and Bob Martin, who reported the sighting to the police, told the BBC: "To start with, we were convinced it was a lion... it's the size of a lion."

Mr Martin's sister-in-law took several photos of the animal, which Mrs Martin described as having a "white chest, with a tan, beige-colour body".