Beware big cats! Police spot two black panthers on prowl around Welsh farm

Tales of big cats stalking Britain's remote areas received apparent corroboration yesterday when police officers spotted not one but two black panthers on Welsh farmland.

PC Mark Jones and PC Jodie Warren went to the hamlet of Goldcliff, near Newport, Gwent, after a farmer reported a big cat near his home.PC Jones said: "We ... saw the black head of a feline animal. We believed it to be domestic, but then the animal broke cover and through binoculars we could clearly see that it was far too large. It was about 2ft 6in [75cm] tall with a quite strikingly long tail, slightly bigger than an alsatian dog but more powerfully and sleekly built."

About 15 minutes later the officers spotted another cat about half the size of the first. They said they were certain it was not domestic either. After a few minutes they saw the larger animal again. PC Jones said: "It came across the farmyard and passed between a trailer and a tractor, and as it did so it blacked out one of the tractor tyres completely.

"I was shocked more than anything because it's quite easy to disbelieve reports like this. But I'm convinced now." A search of the area, assisted by a helicopter using thermal imaging equipment, failed to find the animals. Police advised local people to be vigilant and exercise caution.

PC Jones said that the aim had been to tranquillise the animals, and police marksmen were there only as a precaution in case anyone was endangered by the animals.

Mike Mazzoleni, an estate manager for the Countryside Council for Wales, who looks after the nearby Gwent Levels Wetlands, said he had seen something resembling a panther three or four times in the past six months.

"This has basically confirmed what I've been suspecting for quite a while," he said. "I'm glad, because I've told so many people about it. I worked in a zoo for years so I know what they look like."

Mr Mazzoleni, who said he last saw a big cat three or four weeks ago, believes they may be the result of people dumping them in the countryside in the Seventies, when there was a trend for unusual pets. Last August, Gwent police issued a public warning after sightings of panther-like animals near Monmouth town centre.