New sighting of ‘panther’ in the Midlands
A MOTORIST was stunned after spotting what he claims was a “panther-like” big cat in a field and then finding its prints.
Geoff Thompson, 37, had pulled over in a lay-by on a country lane between Great Witley and Martley, near Worcester when he noticed something strange in the distance.
He says he spotted a large feline shape lurking in the field behind the car on April 14, and then investigated and found its prints.
Classic-car enthusiast Geoff, of Worcester, said: “I just went out for a sunny drive – I noticed it as I started photographing my car. I think it was a panther.”
In a 24-second video, filmed on his mobile phone, he can be heard exclaiming, “What the heck is that animal?!”
Geoff attempted to track the animal and record evidence of its tracks.
He said: “I saw this mystery animal so I’m going to take a stroll down this field and see how much mud there is at the bottom.
“The ground is very wet so if there are any prints or anything we’ll see them.
“There’s no dog walkers there’s no one. It’s early in the morning, no one’s around, no one at all.
“Big cats have always been a bit of an obsession, fascination of mine since I was a kid so to actually see something odd while out and about is pretty funny in my book.”
He got in touch with big-cat researcher and filmmaker Tim Whittard, who produced the award-winning documentary ‘Panthera Britannia Declassified’, which claims to prove that big cats are living in the wilderness of rural Britain.
Tim, 38, of Gloucester, said: “I have had some of my colleagues look over it and while we can’t definitively say it was a big cat, the possibility remains on the table. It absolutely could have been a big cat.
“Consensus seems to suggest that the majority of the tracks photographed are more likely to be dog than anything else, so whilst the tracks do not yield positive proof, the video of the sighting itself is very organic, very natural and we can’t rule out a cat.”
It is not the first time supposed big cats have been seen in the area, with several previously reported sightings.