A Kent big cat expert has got his
claws into a group which claims sightings are a myth.

What's raised Neil Arnold's hackles is a statement from organisation Natural England - that all big cats in the UK are a myth.

But Mr Arnold, who collates sightings from all over the county, said in March alone Kent Big Cat Research has had 27 reports of large, exotic cats.

These included ones in Blue Bell Hill, Lordswood, Densole,
Lenham, Canterbury, and Ashford. These mainly concerned reports of
black leopards, he said.

And so far this year that has added up to 73 reports.

Mr Arnold said: "Sightings date back across Surrey, Kent, and
Sussex to the 1500s.

"A majority of animals sighted in the countryside are not
connected to zoo escapees as the organisation states.

"Hundreds of puma and leopards, mainly cubs, were released in
the 1960s and 1970s, and what we are now seeing are their
offspring.

"Also, previous centuries prove that animals escaped and were
released from menageries."

Natural England, which aims to protect and improve England's
natural environment, had dismissed the idea of big cats in the
country.

Recent big cat sightings

* March 25 - the report from someone on a train from Ebbsfleet to Canterbury states: "On the other side of the tunnel between Boxley and Blue Bell Hill, near train track I saw a big, black cat from a short distance. It resembled a black leopard."

* In early March a black leopard seen by a driver and his girlfriend as they travelled down North Dane Way in Lordswood

* On March 12 a woman named Anne saw a black leopard in a field at Lenham. She was travelling on the M20 Londonbound and described the cat as being "very long in the body".

* On March 10 a lady named Eve saw a black leopard while travelling on a train between Canterbury and Selling.

* During the same month there were two sightings of a black leopard made by a Jason Roberts from Reinden Woods in Densole.

For more information on sightings this year, or to report a sighting, call 07851 602 853.