Second sighting of big cat

A “big black puma” has been spotted in Telford just days after a black cat was seen prowling through fields in the town, it was claimed today.

The latest sighting of the black cat was reported to police at 2pm yesterday after two men spotted it running through the Dawley area. The animal was seen near the old Ever Ready factory off Hinkshay Road.

It comes after Diana Young, 65, saw “a big cat” while walking her dog in open fields between Lawley and Dawley on Saturday.

Mrs Young, of Dawley, said: “I saw this animal running across the open fields. It was definitely a big cat. It was too big for a fox.”

Mrs Young said she feared for her safety after spotting the cat and had to make her escape along the main road back to her car. Today, Constable Pete Simmonds, spokesman for Telford police, said: “A big cat was seen by two men in the Telford town park area yesterday at 2pm.

“It was in the Dawley area near the old Ever Ready factory off Hinkshay Road. The people who saw it described it as looking like a big black puma.”

Panther-like animals have been seen in Telford Town Park, on an embankment near the Town Centre and in the Ketley area.

Lord Bradford had a close encounter with a big cat near Weston Park and a father-of-two reported seeing a large black cat on the Telford Eastern Primary Road.