ANOTHER sighting has been reported of the mysterious big cat that is said to be prowling the Ryedale countryside.

A big cat, thought by expert Eddie Bell to be a puma, was recently seen near West Lutton.

At the time, Eddie said pumas were the most likely big cats to be in the wild for a number of reasons.

It is mostly because pumas were popular with private owners in the 1970s, before many were released into the wild because of the Dangerous Animals Act.

Now, Helperthorpe resident Martin Walls said his mother made a similar sighting near to Duggleby, in a field next to the B1248 Beverley road.

"It was at 7pm on Monday, April 16. She reported seeing a hare criss-crossing a field, and at the point where the hare started there was a black shape with a long curved tail.

"I thought this was a coincidence with an article appearing in the Evening Press about the same time."

Eddie always treats sightings with scepticism, despite being convinced there are pumas in Ryedale.

"What people often do see are very large domestic cats that have escaped and become feral."

Updated: 12:47 Tuesday, March 08, 2005