Is this the mark of The Beast?

11:17am Tuesday 16th October 2007

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A farmer has discovered huge animal tracks on his land and fears there is a big cat on the prowl near his home.

Robert Rogers from Poplar Farm in East Heslerton was checking crops in a nearby field just before dark on Sunday when he came across the puzzling prints.

He said he had always dismissed the 'Beast of Ryedale' tales, but that was before he stumbled upon the five-inch wide paw prints.

"I had always rubbished the idea of big cats living in the area but this has definitely changed my mind, " he said.

"I was checking my winter barley crop as the sun was going down and I happened to notice a huge paw print and then three others.

"Being a farmer I have seen all kind of animal tracks but this was something far larger than a badger or a fox. There were no claw marks and I have had friends down to look at them and they have come to the same conclusion as me."

He added: "It has given me the creeps to be honest and I'm a bit wary about venturing out into the fields at night. My son is 20 and over six feet tall and he said there's no way he is going down there with a big animal on the loose."

Last month two sisters from Kirkbymoorside spotted a 'jet-black' animal with a 'long, curling tail' as they drove along a back road near Oswaldkirk. In 1995, Malton Police opened a file on the so-called 'Beast of Ryedale', when a cream-coloured puma-type animal was spotted by a passenger on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway.

A contingency plan was drawn up to deal with the animal, under which firearms officers accompanied by a vet would attempt to tranquilise it. Since then numerous other sightings of big cats have been reported.