Big cat sighting in Empingham, Rutland

A big cat has been captured on camera prowling across farmland close to homes.

Shell Lee, who lives in Empingham, was at home with her son on Tuesday evening when they spotted the creature.

“We see a lot of bats at this time of year, and so Bobby and I were looking out of the window when we saw what looked like a cat, but was much too big,” said Shell.

“I’ve never seen anything like it before, although I grew up in Ketton and had often heard people talking about big cat sightings.”

The 36-year-old mobile hairdresser grabbed her mobile phone to take photos and a video of the big cat stalking through the grass at the back of her home in Bayley’s Close.

“I wanted to be able to show my mum what we had seen,” she added. “I’m convinced it’s not a domestic cat because of the way it moved and the way its long tail was curved downwards.

She added that her two pet cats, Fatcat and Litten, might be well fed, but they were nothing like the size of the creature she had seen.

She and Bobby have now added ‘big cat watching’ to their summer evening bat-watch.