Tree Surgeons Tell Of Encounter With Big Cat

21 February 2009
Press Association Regional Newswire - South West

Two tree surgeons watched "in awe" as a big cat "the size of a labrador" prowled under the willow they were felling in Gloucester, it has emerged.

John Vine and Nick Cole were trimming the tree in Churchdown when they saw the beast lope out of thicket.

They managed to photograph the cat's paw print after it left following the episode at mid morning on Monday.

Mr Vine, 49, said: "I was working 50ft up in tree when Nick shouted to me to look down to my left.

"I saw this black cat, that I first thought was just a domestic cat. I only got the scale when I saw it come half-way up a gate post.

"The cat was the size of a labrador with a shimmering coat, like gloss paint, and a black tail as long as itself. The tail was what struck me most. It seemed as though it was floating, curled up at the end and hovering in the air.

"The head was similar to a domestic cat, but slightly bigger. I wasn't so much scared, as in awe. I think he was more afraid of me that I was of him. He didn't slouch but just swept away like a wave.

"I've been a sceptic about these kinds of things in the past and thought it was just old wives' tales, but there's no doubt in my mind now."

The sighting was on a dirt track near the Highgrove Estate in Tudor Mead about 11.30am.

Big cat expert Frank Tunbridge, 60, has been tracking cats for the past 25 years and believes the men's account is too similar to other recent sightings to ignore. He said: "I think they disturbed this animal, working with their equipment and it came out of the thicket. You'll never see them if you actively go looking."