(Original Headline: BLACK CAT IS BACK )
The mysterious beast of Tynedale has been sighted near Hexham.
The panther-like big black cat was seen strolling along a dry-stone wall in a farmer’s field near Lowgate.
Ray and Evelyn Robson were at the Rainbow Trust’s Fernstone House last weekend when they were shocked to see the creature in the nearby field.
“It was really jet black,” said Ray. “It was huge – at least twice the size of a cat. It was so long.
“It is the gospel truth. My wife an I were so shocked. It had a beautiful, shining fur coat. It was gorgeous.”
The couple, from Seaham in County Durham, were at Fernstone for the weekend with their 12-year-old son, Michael.
Evelyn added: “It was way too big to be a cat. It was the size, and the way it was walking. It was stretched out, slowly moving.
“We stood for ages watching it. It jumped off the wall and walked up the field. It was absolutely huge and pure black.”
The sighting adds fuel to the rumours of there being a panther or puma-like cat wandering Tynedale.
There have been numerous sightings of the mystery creature in various parts of the district over the years, including one by children at St Joseph’s Middle School and a Hexham surgeon walking his dogs.
In another incident, 20 lambs were found to have been killed at Hall Farm, near Minsteracres, following reports of a big cat in the area five years ago.
There was also an outbreak of stock killing near Scots Gap, where the Morpeth Hunt flushed an unidentified cat-like creature from a wood, and a cat the size of a collie dog was found dead on the Wanneys 10 years ago.
