Jogger spots 'big cat' on the loose in Yorkshire

Jeff Johnson was heading out for a run, driving near Heath Common, in Wakefield, when something caught his eye.

Mr Johnson, from Normanton, said: “I just saw something jet black I thought ‘what the hell is that?’ When I looked over again I thought ‘that's massive’ and I pulled over into a layby near a farmer’s gate. For me it was definitely no dog or normal cat. I've heard about people seeing big cats but it’s not something I’ve ever seen before.”

Mr Johnson said from the roadside the animal’s body appeared that it would reach just below waist height with its head rising above. He said he was about 200 metres away from the creature.

“I whistled to try attract it," he said. “It looked but it just stayed stationary. It was there about ten muinutes. I was first thinking that I wanted to get closer and then I thought ‘no it could be quite dangerous’. I didn’t know if I would be able to get back if get to boundary fence if I attracted its attention.”

And it’s not the first time that people believe they have spotted big cats roaming free in the region. Walkers spot a large, black animal prowling fields near Sutton cum Lound, south of Doncaster, in October. Big cat expert Rick Minter said despite the sightings, big cats are “shy and wary animals” and not “large predators on the loose”.