Terrified runners spot 'big cat' on Scout Scar (From The Westmorland Gazette)

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Terrified runners spot 'big cat' on Scout Scar

1:00pm Thursday 26th January 2012 in News Photograph of the Author By Steven Bell , Reporter

Angela Jones and Eve Grayson, who say they saw South Lakeland's mystery big car

Two terrified runners have spoken of their face-to-face encounter with South Lakeland’s mysterious big ‘black cat’.

The latest sighting was reported by Angela Jones and Eve Grayson, whose evening jog on Scout Scar was dramatically interrupted at around 6.30pm last Wednesday.

They have vowed never to venture up to the popular beauty spot in darkness again after coming across what they said was ‘definitely’ a big cat.

It follows years of apparent sightings of the curious creature in Kendal, Levens, Natland, Witherslack and in the Winster Valley.

The jogging duo, who both live in Kendal, spotted the animal just four metres in front of them on the side of a path.

Angela said the animal was jet black, the same size as a labrador, had long legs, a tail and was staring straight at them.

“We stopped, shone our head torches towards it to get a better look and saw two orange eyes and the outline of a large feline animal,” said Angela “It was definitely a big cat.”

As they moved towards the beast, Eve, a student, reported that its tail moved and ‘bristled’, similar to a cat’s when it is angry. But fear quickly set in and they decided to run in the opposite direction.

Angela, who works for Cum-bria County Council, said it was an ‘amazing experience’ but also ‘a bit frightening’.

“We were terrified because it was dark and we didn’t know what it was going to do, or whether it was going to follow us. It is not something you expect to see in this country – and not so close.”

Later that night, they turned to the internet to try to establish what they had seen.

Angela – who said she had never taken previous big cat sightings seriously – was surprised by the number of reports locally.

Word of their brush with the mystery moggy has been met with scepticism by some, but Angela and Eve are adamant about what they saw.

“People still don’t believe it but we know what we saw,” said Angela. “They say: ‘Are you sure it wasn’t a cow or a sheep’ – we were close enough to see that it wasn’t.

“It’s almost like we want to see it again to get a picture to prove it to people.”

l Have you seen a large black cat roaming around South Lakeland recently? If the answer is yes, call the newsroom on 01539-710179.

Comments(24)

WilliamT says...
1:19pm Thu 26 Jan 12

I normally discount this sort of thing as nonsense, or a con. However, these 2 seem reputable people, and I've been running around Scout Scar in the dark myself. They had head torches, and don't seem the type for making up a daft story. Maybe there's something in it, but a cat the size of a labrador would be noshing its way through quite a few sheep. There ought to be some sign of that.