A shadowy creature believed to be a big cat has been captured on CCTV prowling along a driveway in a sleepy town. Steven Searle's security camera recorded the animalas it strolled past his neighbour's property.
The brief nighttime footage shows thedog-sized beast moving alongside the fence. It then passes the gate before disappearing into the darkness. Steven, 51, was left gobsmacked by the sighting at approximately 2am on Sunday (December 28).
He has been residing at the property in Malvern, Worcs, for roughly a year. "I woke up at 2.23am as our CCTV was set off and caught what looks to be a black jaguar type big cat walking up the neighbour's path," he said.
"It triggered the CCTV so it is big. None of the domestic cats in the close have ever done that. It was head height to the bonnet of a car and bigger than a normal cat.
"It clearly walked past the car and gate next door. If it had been on my drive it would have been a much better view. Normal cats do not set off the CCTV due to how I've set it up.
"It only ever gets triggered by people or cars. I set it like that so it doesn't go off all the time. Our neighbour up the road said he saw something bigger than a domestic cat too but he has no recording.
"He was up late and saw a large animal walk past his house. I was shocked at the size of what I saw."
Last year, an expert revealed that as many as 100 big catscould be roaming free across the British countryside.
Professor Robin Allaby discovered evidence of their DNA in the wild in the UK. The expert, from Warwick University, analysed a sample taken from a sheep's carcass in the Lake District.
The expert identified DNA from the 'Panthera genus', indicating that it must have originated from a lion, leopard, tiger, jaguar or snow leopard. Sharon Larkin-Snowden discovered the sheep's remains in Cumbria.
It wouldn't be the first time a predator has been suspected in Worcestershire. In June, reports emerged of a mutilated animal corpse in the town of Bewdley, sparking fears of a big cat.
A half-eaten deer carcass was found with its insides devoured in the Wyre Forest on the outskirts of the town. Jessica Lodge, a passerby who spotted the corpse, said she hadn't seen "anything like this before".
She said: "I haven't seen anything like this before and this is an area I go to a lot. We were there during the day and the deer was not there. And we went back the day after and that's when we found it."
She added: "It had most certainly been put there to be eaten. It was an enclosed area with barbed wire fencing in the Wyre forest. It definitely didn't just die in the middle of a bramble bush.
"Definitely never seen anything like it before. I absolutely think it's possible it was done by a big cat. There have been other sightings too."
