The grim discovery of a mutilated deer carcass coupled with fresh sightings of the Beast of Brentwood has prompted police to seek advice from an expert on dangerous animals.

Animal droppings discovered near the body of the dead deer have been collected up in the hope that analysis will confirm whether a big cat was responsible for the vicious attack.

BT worker Lynda Caryl made the horrific find in a field off Weald Road, Brentwood, on Wednesday afternoon.

Miss Caryl, who keeps a horse in livery at Halfway House Farm, said: "The deer was on its front and had been eaten away. It was horrific. You could see from the grass where the animal had been dragged - I can't see how a fox could drag anything that size."

The 37-year-old animal lover from Mayfield Gardens, Brentwood, alerted farm owner Frank Pain.

Mr Pain, who later buried the carcass, added: "I am sure a fox couldn't have done that. The deer was mutilated. It looked like it had been eaten by a lion. It was unbelievable."

The attack happened within half a mile of a spate of sightings by a security guard.

Tony Holtby, who works night shifts at an office complex in Hubert Road, believes at least two big cats are on the prowl.

The 42-year-old claims to have seen two large creatures resembling a mountain lion and a lynx on CCTV screens during the early hours of the morning on seven separate occasions since November 6.

He reported the sightings - in an alley alongside the building - to Brentwood police, but his attempts to photograph the creatures have proved disappointing.

Mr Holtby, of Hutton Road, Brentwood, admitted he had met with some sceptical reactions from colleagues.

But he said: "I'd put my life on it. You just don't expect to see a mountain lion in Brentwood but I know what I have seen.

"I am determined to get better pictures."

His sightings followed a recent report of an unidentified large black creature attacking a deer in Weald Road.

Brentwood police sergeant Paul Saunders, who collates details of the beast in his role as county wildlife liaison officer, said police would be seeking expert advice from professional animal trapper Quentin Rose on the best course of action.

Mr Rose came to Brentwood three years ago following a spate of puma sightings and the discovery of a carcass-filled den in South Weald. But he was unable to find physical evidence of the Brentwood cat.

The beast was also the subject of a BBC wildlife documentary, X-Creatures, in 1998 which identified it as a European Lynx, a relative of the leopard.

Published Friday December 28, 2001