(Original headline:Bengal cat theory after 'tiger' sighting sparks armed response )
Villagers in North Yorkshire are on the lookout for a big cat after multiple sightings of a mysterious animal.
Armed police were called to Ryther, near Selby, after a female motorist saw an animal she took for a tiger race across the road in front of her. The terrified woman, who was on her way to work, drove to a nearby garage to raise the alarm and an armed response vehicle from Tadcaster was sent to the scene.
Officers searched the area, around the B1223 between Ryther and Ulleskelf, but found no trace of the animal. The big cat sighting was the latest in a part of North Yorkshire where five similar reports have been made in the past two years.
Sgt Ian Wilkinson said: "We received a report from a woman claiming she had seen a tiger.
"She went into a nearby garage in a very distressed state. Further enquiries revealed a farmer saw something similar recently. We believe it could have been a lynx. We did call an armed response vehicle but we didn't discover anything."
Paul Westwood, from Pontefract, who runs a popular big cat website, gave a possible explanation.
"It sounds like she saw a Bengal cat," said Mr Westwood of the latest sighting. "They're a cross between a domestic cat and an Asian leopard cat.
"They're bigger than a domestic cat and could look similar to a tiger from a distance. They're kept in captivity legally in the UK but sometimes escape and live in the wild."
Big cat sightings in the area have included a large black cat near Selby Fork service station in April 2004 and a "panther" at Escrick a month later.
In July that year a cat "bigger than a Labrador" was seen in fields near Camblesforth and in May last year a black, panther-like animal was reportedly seen near RAF Church Fenton.
