The elusive Beast of Essex may have been spotted in Colchester.
A mother and daughter called police after they spotted what they claim was a black panther at about 8.30pm on Monday.
They say they saw the animal between wasteland, where there are currently building works, and Turner Road, near Colchester General Hospital.
The pair were walking towards the woods when they saw the creature. They told police it was definitely not a dog and was too large to be a domestic cat.
The Best of Essex was first spotted lurking in the Braintree district in the mid-1990s. Since then there have been more than 80 sightings around the county.
Braintree big cat expert John Hancock has even set up the Essex Big Cat Research Project to look into each of the sightings.
- More in today's Gazette
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