RECOVERED OLD FILE
(Original headline: FRESH SIGHTING OF WELSH 'BIG CAT' )
A puma-like beast which savagely killed a dog at the weekend has been dubbed the cat that almost got the cream after a new sighting today at a milk processing plant.
Police marksmen were called to Llangadog Creamery, mid Wales, in the early hours of this morning after a lorry driver reported seeing the cat.
Bosses at the Associated Co-operative Creamery said a driver called the police after spotting a cat-like form enter the main gates at 2am.
Worried residents in the picturesque rural community have been locking up pets and keeping a close eye on their children since Sunday's attack.
Dyfed Powys police have since advised local farmers to tour their land in pairs as a precaution and to carry a high powered torch at night.
They are running tests on DNA and saliva samples taken from the dead dog in an effort to get positive conformation of what they are dealing with.
Llangadog resident Mike Shepherd, 62, came face to face with the big cat on Sunday after setting out to find his neighbour's missing whippet.
He discovered the big cat, with blood over its face, standing over the dog's lifeless form, and ran inside and alerted the police.
Police marksmen quickly attended the creamery this morning, but the big cat had already disappeared.
"One of our lorry drivers returning after a late delivery at about 2am saw this black cat-shaped large animal entering the creamery gates," an ACC spokesman said.
"The police came, but it had already disappeared, but they did take video footage from our CCTV cameras to look at in case that picked up anything.
"Locally, they are calling it 'the cat that almost got the cream' now, although there was never any chance it could have accessed food stuffs."
Richard Morgan, who runs Llangadog post office, said everyone in the village was taking the sightings extremely seriously.
"People are being very careful with their children and keeping them in view and are basically not letting pets out at all," he said today.
"The police are still here and on stand-by, which is reassuring people.
"But these cats can travel large distances very quickly so nobody knows whether it has left he area or is still here."
A Dyfed Powys police spokesman said the results of tests on DNA and saliva from the dead dog would not be known for two weeks.
"Police marksmen are still in Llangadog but they will be meeting today to review the situation," he added.
