According to locals, about two years ago, there were numerous sightings here in Staffordshire of a large black puma-like cat near Draycott (near Cheadle) and several sheep were found half devoured.

Elsewhere...
Witnesses in Walton near Tamworth are convinced a panther is roaming wild in the countryside around their homes. Resident Richard Meredith is sensible man, a pillar of the local community, but he’s convinced:

There have been sixteen sightings of big cats within a mile or two of this village. Sightings from people who were not drunk. They were not small pussy cats, they were sightings from just 50 yards. Undoubtedly, there have been panthers in this area.

Richard Meredith, Villager

More Recently...
Across the county border, in Shrewsbury last August, armed police and a search helicopter were called in after a sighting of a big cat near a Shropshire motel.

A part of the town was sealed off and a section of the main A5 on the outskirts of town closed by police for nearly an hour during the hunt, but the search proved unsuccessful.

It was the third reported sighting in a month of a huge black cat roaming in grassland in the area. Animal experts believe it may have been a jaguar or leopard that was being kept illegally and had escaped.

If there are big cats in the wild in the UK, it's thought to be because the Dangerous and Wild Animals Act 1976.

This act forced many private owners to either licence their pets or turn them over to wildlife parks. Some chose to set their animals free, as this wasn't made illegal until the 1981 Countryside Act.

Beware North of the border...
Sightings have been reported all over the UK, but according to the Big Cat Monitors website, the big cat hot spot is Scotland!

In Fife, numerous sightings and video footage convinced police that there's a large cat, probably a puma in the area near Cupar. And in Ardrossan, Ayrshire, police observed an animal with a dark coat, apparently 3ft tall with yellow eyes and a very long tail. Big cat experts think it could have been a puma (mountain lion/cougar).

And there's more...
Other areas where big cats have been sighted include Yorkshire, North Lincolnshire, Suffolk, Buckinghamshire, Enfield, Herefordshire, County Antrim and Sussex.

The big cat phenomenon always seems to crop up in Staffordshire as Nigel Spencer can testify - he has spent time looking for them on Cannock Chase:

Most people say they have seen pumas or panthers. Cannock Chase is one of the hot spots for big cat sightings in the Midlands.

Nigel Spencer, Big cat expert.

Big Cat Monitors is a website dedicated to recording and investigating big cats sightings. They strongly believe there are big cats in the wild in the UK.

Photo evidence
The site even includes photographs of big cat paw prints. One shows a paw print next to a 50 pence piece, which appears tiny in comparison. More evidence and reports can be found on the ukbigcats website.
This site also includes stills from CCTV footage showing what looks like a large black cat in Telford.

Still don't believe it?
If there are no big cats in the wild, why are there so many reported sightings? And what about all the sightings that go unreported?

Maybe the evidence on the websites above will change the mind of any sceptic, but I suspect, as with many wild tales - unless people see it with their own eyes, most will say, in true Victor Meldrew fashion: 'I don't believe it!

So, have you seen any big cats in your area? Have you got any pictures of big cat sightings? Click here to send your Big Cat stories to us...