BEAST OF BILLIONAIRES’ ROW
Gun police called in as big cat is seen on the prowl in exclusive city suburb
IT LOOKS like a wild beast straight from the plains of Africa.
But this big cat was spotted hunting for prey in an exclusive suburb of London – close to a road labelled Billionaires’ Row.
Armed police – and a helicopter – were called in after alarmed residents sighted the savannah cat, a cross between a domestic moggie and a large-eared African feline called a serval.
It was believed to have escaped from a mansion on The Bishops Avenue in the Hampstead Garden Suburb area. The cat was seen prowling around in nearby Winnington Road. The savannah, which can grow to nearly 20in tall and weigh 25lb, was still being hunted by police last night after it vanished. An animal expert brought in by officers had ‘visually assessed’ the beast and said it was not a threat to the public.
A resident tweeted on Monday that the cat had escaped from a home on The Bishops Avenue, occupants of which have included the Sultan of Brunei, the Saudi royal family, Gracie Fields, Sir Billy Butlin and Sir Paul McCartney’s former wife Heather Mills.
The resident posted: ‘Rumours that a wildcat has been spotted on Winnington Road this evening.
‘A friend who lives nearby says there are lots of police cars and a helicopter is overhead.’
Savannah cats were first bred in the UK in the 1980s and are seen as prestigious exotic pets. They are capable of leaping 8ft but are normally docile and can be trained to walk on a lead or fetch objects.
Last year, a terrified resident in the area threw a toy at a spotted ‘supercat’ as it stalked her two young children in the garden.
Dr Neetu Nirdosh said: ‘My heart was jumping out of my chest.’