THERE have long been reports of big cats roaming the countryside in the Cirencester district.

As she was returning from work last month, soldier Jess Mumford became another person convinced they have spotted one of the animals.

The black leopard-like creature was spotted by Jess as she was driving out of Poulton, near Cirencester, early on the morning of August 8.

Jess, who is a movement controller at RAF Brize Norton, and part of 29 Regiment near Cirencester, was driving out of the village on the A417 when she spotted the animal, which she said was about five foot long.

She said: “I saw a reflection of the eyes in my headlights, it alerted me to something. I slowed down to ten miles per hour and this cat was no more than a road width away from me and the car.

“It walked along the hedge line towards me. I saw it for about 15 or 20 seconds.

“Everything about it was cat like. It was very slender and it was quite big and long and had a small head.

“When I actually saw the cat I tried to convince myself that it wasn’t real because it seemed so wrong, but when I got home I was sure and reported it to the police.

“I am actually quite pleased I saw it. It is a once in a lifetime thing to see something like that.”

There have been several big cat sightings in the district, such as a black 4.5ft creature caught on CCTV near Cirencester Hospital in 2005.

The Poulton big cat sighting was the second made in the Cirencester area last month – on August 17, a black panther-like creature was seen by a motorist in a field next to Cirencester Rugby Football Club.

A study at the Royal Agricultural University in Cirencester is currently trying to prove the existence of big cats.

Big cat expert Rick Minter, who is acting as a consultant on the study, said: “Jess’s description of the animal is very similar to a good proportion of the reports made.

“A leopard in its black form is the prime candidate for a cat of this scale. Leopards are elusive and stealthy, so rarely seen, and they have a ready supply of food in our landscape, such as rabbits, deer and pheasants.

“Although there have been reports recently and over the years on the edges of Cirencester and nearby countryside, the animal could be a long way off by now and rarely back in this same location.”