A man was left stunned after seeing what he believes is the same cat described as the size of a 'mini-leopard' twice in a month on the A4.
His claims will raise speculation that a mystery beast is loose in Berkshire. William Barnard, 30, a nurse from Maidenhead, saw the cat while pointing out to a friend where he had originally seen the first one.
He said: "A friend and I were driving along the A4 and I slowed my car to show him where I had seen the first cat.
"Just as I pointed out the area, we were stunned to see what appeared to be the same animal dart out and chase a fox into the brush. The cat seemed to be a large feline like animal, light grey in colour, with a long tail, about three quarters the length of its body, that is what struck me and stood out in my mind, its tail.
"It also had large black patches on its body, unlike anything I had seen before."
This incident occurred only three weeks after Mr Barnard, stopped his car to witness a large cat clutching a 'dead fowl' in its mouth, trotting across the road.
Both incidents took place on the A4 towards Reading, between the Burchetts Green roundabout and the Texaco garage, at approximately 4am. Mr Barnard's passenger, Stuart Lamb, 44, of Kimmaird Close, Burnham, said: "It was powerful and slender and looked to be the size of a mini-leopard."
Linda Long, Berkshire sightings coordinator for Big Cats in Britain Research Group, said sightings are not as rare as one might expect.
She said that in the Cookham and Maidenhead area there have been six reported sightings since 2002, and 99 in Berkshire since 1987.
She said people should not attempt to approach these sorts of creatures and avoid all eye contact and sudden moves at all costs.
On the web: www.bigcatsinbritain.co.uk
(Original headline: Big cat mystery on the A4 )
