THE hunt for a mysterious big cat seen several times in the last few months has intensfied following two further sightings by a motorist within a week.

The animal, described as black and the size of a large labrador dog, was seen by the woman as she was driving in Summerhill Road, Headcorn, near Maidstone, early one morning two weeks ago.

She said she saw the animal emerge from a hedge about 50 yards in front of her, cross the road and disappear into the hedge on the other side of the road.

The same week she saw the animal again, while she was driving along the same road at 7pm. It emerged from the side of the road and crossed the road again, disappearing into the hedge on the other side.

On both occasions, the animal was at the same spot in the road and crossed from the same side to the other each time. She described it as as big as a labrador.

The woman, who is not from Headcorn, reported the incident to Neil Arnold, founder of the Medway-based Kent Big Cat Research.

Several sightings of a black panther-like cat in fields between Marden and Staplehurst and near Headcorn have been reported over the last few months.

At the end of October, an electrician working in Marden said he saw the animal and in December a commuter also saw the animal, which he described as black, slightly larger than a labrador dog and with a long, curly tail, close to the railway line just outside Headcorn. A few weeks earlier a woman and her son saw a similar creature as they walked across fields, near Headcorn, in the middle of the morning.

In the same month, a Sissinghurst couple also claim to have seen the animal heading towards the Headcorn area as they drove home along the A262 from Biddenden.

There have been other sightings of a large black cat at Barming, near Maidstone, Aylesford, and Bredgar, near Sittingbourne.

Mr Arnold is convinced the animal in the latest sighting is a black leopard, probably living near Headcorn.

"It is likely to be one of a handful of black leopards with vast territories around the area," he added.

Anyone with information can contact Mr Arnold on 01634 302572 or write to Kent Messenger, 6&7 Middle Row, Maidstone, Kent ME14 1TG, e-mail messengernews@thekmgroup.co.uk