Sighting of the week (OK, fortnight really)

Leicestershire. Anstey Heights area. Back in September 2007, two friends were out dog walking in fields, when some nearby bushes rustled and a huge jet black cat came out. For one long minute the two people and a dog stared at the cat and the cat stared back. Then the two friends and dog ran to the safety of a nearby alley, and the cat disappeared back into the bushes.

"The cat was huge, over 5 feet long. I could tell by the body shape it wasn't just a big dog or whatever else, those big paws and big muscley legs. I know what it was, and it was a panther or a puma or whatever you call them. It ran very fast. I walk in these fields all the time and just want to know what to do in case I am confronted by one. Nobody believes me and I'm not sure who to tell so I'm telling you. They are out there."

Other sightings over the last fortnight have come in from Aberdeenshire, Clackmannanshire, Essex, Fife, Hampshire, Nottinghamshire, Shropshire, and West Glamorgan. Full details will be posted in the members area of the BCIB website.