A rare image of a “big cat” stalking through the Kent countryside has been featured in a documentary after being uncovered by filmmakers.

The feline was captured on camera in 2013 and experts say its neck muscle, ear shape and tail all suggest it is not a domestic animal.

It is believed to be a 'pumapard' - a cross between a puma and a leopard – and could be a rare dwarf breed that points towards evidence of big cats in the UK.

It is not known where in Kent it was spotted, but in 2013 someone in Tunbridge Wells reported seeing a large cat that was “pitch black” and “striding across a wheat field next to the A21”.

The photo which is now 10 years old was unearthed by makers of a new documentary called ‘Panthera Britannia Declassified'.

The revelation comes following a number of reported big cat sightings across the county over the years.

Experts interviewed in the film such as Prof. Andrew Hemmings of the Royal Agricultural University said its dimensions suggest it is not your typical moggy.

He said: “The developed neck musculature and curvature of the tail both suggest something other than Felis Catus.

“Scaling is difficult but this does not appear to be of adult leopard size.

''It is however entirely plausible that populations of leopard-sized felids could have become smaller over multiple generations, maybe in response to natural genetic selection imposed by a prey-base of smaller animals such as rabbits.

''It would make good evolutionary sense to adapt to a plentiful, low risk species such as the rabbit.”

Pumapards have previously been born in captivity and in general, these hybrids have exhibited a tendency to dwarfism.

Both male cougar with female leopard, and male leopard with female cougar, pairings have produced pumapard offspring.

One theory of how big cats arrived in Britain is through the unregulated exotic pet trade of the last days of the Empire.

Leopards were imported from Africa and Asia, and pumas or cougars from the Americas, and experts believe both species were released into our countryside.

Big cat researcher Kevin Steele, who runs the ‘Real Big Cats in Kent’ group on Facebook, said: “There have been numerous sightings of big cats in Kent now over several decades.

“I know the location where the photo was taken and sightings are reported from that area quite often.”

Appearing in the documentary expert animal tracker Rhoda Watkins, believes the idea is could be a pumapard is correct.

Sarah Hartwell, owner of website ‘MessyBeast’ said: ''The puma and leopard hybrids were smaller than either parent, but most seemed to have died as juveniles so we don't know their final size.

“The ear shape is the big giveaway. Big cats all have rounded ears.

''Domestics (and their relatives in the Lybica family) have triangular ears - wide at the base and narrowing at the tip.”

Famous monster hunter and star of Animal Planet’s hit TV series ‘Finding Bigfoot’, James “Bobo” Fay agrees with Prof. Hemmings saying: “I've seen four mountain lions in the past month; I see them all the time in California.

“It possesses characteristics associated with the North American cougar. It’s definitely not a bobcat.

“The tail looks cougar-like to me and it seems more muscular than a domestic cat, but my overall impression is that I'm looking at a large domestic dominant hybrid.”

There have been a number of possible "real" big cat sightings across the county over the years.

In May 2011, a couple spotted a black leopard running across a field in Kingsnorth, near Ashford.

Eugene and Karina Rivers saw the animal while walking their Welsh terrier puppy Jasmine off Cheesemans Green Lane at 9.30pm.

Mrs Rivers told KentOnline at the time: "It came right across the horizon but we couldn't see an owner. This thing was travelling so fast I could hardly keep my eyes on it.”

Three sightings of large animal, thought to be a 'black Leopard' were reported on social media within 90 minutes of one another in February 2016.

One person, from Lower Hardres near Canterbury, saw the creature just 20 metres from their back garden after being alerted by their pet dog.

Reports of a similar creature were then posted by people living near Sevenoaks and Maidstone.

A huge "wild" cat was spotted prowling near a popular children’s play park in 2017.

The large lynx-like animal was seen walking beside bushes by stunned onlookers in Hampton, near Herne Bay.

Maria Parkhouse said the size of the cat took her breath away, comparing it to “like something out of a movie”.

A motorist and two security guards spotted two separate sightings of two big cats 10 days apart in Kemsley.

The security workers were sitting in their hut close to Kemsley railway line at about 5am on November 13, 2010, when one of their spotlights revealed two bright green eyes staring at them from the undergrowth.

The documentary ‘Panthera Britannia Declassified’ by Dragonfly Films is available to buy and rent on Amazon Prime, iTunes and Google TV.