A FORMER soldier claims to have seen a big cat on two nights in the past week.

Scott Arnold, of Catlyn Close, East Malling, used his home video camera to film what he believes could have been a puma lying at the junction of New Road and Chapman Way.

"I was putting the Playstation away into our TV unit and suddenly something caught the corner of my eye, lying in the road," he said.

"At first I thought it was a fox that had been run over but then it rolled over like cats do and sat up. It reappeared alongside some houses moments later and walked away."

The 41-year-old former Lance Corporal, who lived in Africa as a child, said the animal he saw was bigger than a leopard.

"It was about seven feet, from tail to nose," he said. "It looked straight towards me, it had big glowing eyes."

Mr Arnold said he caught a quick glimpse of the big cat again early on Monday morning.

Neil Arnold, of Kent Big Cat Research, who has been monitoring sightings of big cats in West Kent for more than 10 years, said it was possible that the light-coloured animal was a puma.

He said: "A lady saw a puma in her back garden in West Malling last year."

The mountain lions, native to America, are not easy to spot. They are nocturnal and often sleep in trees, said Mr Arnold.

He believes big cats may have been roaming the Kent countryside since the early 20th century.

After the introduction of the Dangerous Wild Animals Act in 1976 many exotic pets have been released into the wild by owners who wanted to avoid paying for a license, Mr Arnold said.

* Have you seen a big cat in the area? Ring our newsroom on 01622 695666 or e-mail messengernews.@thekmgroup.co.uk