‘Big cat’ may be roaming moors

A DOBCROSS motorist came face-to face-with a mysterious creature as she drove through Saddleworth moorland — prompting fears of a big cat on the loose.

Helen Morris was driving towards the M62 from Denshaw at 6am yesterday when she saw the animal in the middle of the road.

She said: “At first I thought it was a sheep so I slowed down but the car didn’t phase the animal —it wasn’t frightened at all.

“When I got up close I could see the animal was a cat-like creature — almost like a female lion with a long tail. It had huge green eyes, a tawny coat and was the size of a large dog.

“I kept beeping my horn to try and get it to move. It was quite scary because I didn’t really know what it was or how it would react. It was only when I drove right up to it that it calmly walked off on to the moorland.

“I told the police about it and they said it wasn’t the first time sightings of the creature had been reported.

“I just wanted to make people aware that it was out there. Farmers should also be aware, as should ramblers using the moors.

“I drive that way every morning and I have never seen it before. There is lots of space round there for it to roam.”

Helen’s sighting comes less than a year after Greenfield farmer Chris Crowther found a dead sheep on his land.

The lamb’s coat had been ripped off and bones picked clean of flesh.

Mr Crowther, whose land stretches to Meltham, said that something bigger than a fox, such as a puma or cougar, must have carried out the attack.

In 2006, a survey revealed that big cats were roaming the countryside — backed by reported sightings in Saddleworth.

And, according to the British Big Cats Society, there could be panthers, pumas and lynx in the wild.

It says 2,123 sightings of big cats were reported in the 15 months to July, 2005.

In December, 2003, Saddleworth Moor was a hot spot when shooters were warned to stay away after a wounded, panther-like animal was seen above Dovestone.

It was believed to have made its way from the Holmfirth Valley where there were three sightings.

A shooting magazine offered a £1,000 reward for evidence that the big cat existed, prompting police to warn off hunters for their own safety.

NFU spokesman, Carl Hudspith, said: “We do get reports like this from time to time.

“We very much rely on local knowledge of the farmers on the spot, and if they believe that sheep killings are the work of big cats, then that’s good enough for us.

“However, it is worth pointing out that even if all the reports are true, far more sheep are killed each year by dogs than by more exotic predators.”