Woman left 'terrified' after black panther sighting in Cotswolds
A sighting of a 'big cat' in South Cerney in the Cotswolds is being looked into by Gloucestershire Police.
It is the second apparent sighting in the county in the past two months.
27-year-old Ellie Haggart was 'terrified' when she spotted the 'big cat' - which she says was definitely a panther - whilst walking her dog in Wildmoorway Lane near the lakes.
She was with her French Bulldog, Oscar, when she said she saw a "panther come out into full view of the footpath” on Thursday 4 June.
Ellie said: “I didn’t know what it was at first but I knew it was pretty big, I wanted to assume it was an extremely large dog.
“I soon realised there was no owner and then I could start to see certain defining characteristics of the animal like the feline movement of the shoulders and the difference in the shape of its legs compared to that of a dog.
“I don’t know if it saw Oscar and I, but it started prowling slowly in our direction. I was terrified.”
The previous incident at Robinswood Hill near Matson Lake took place on Thursday 14 May when three sisters were out on their daily walk.
They said they "could not believe their eyes" when a big cat crossed the footpath in in front of them and walked off into a wooded area.
They later went back to see if they would come across the animal again.
Officers from the Rural Crime Team are investigating the sighting and have appealed for information.
They've asked for anyone who has relevant information to call 101 quoting incident 152 04-06-20.