Big cat spotted in England

An English pensioner claims she has spotted a big cat at her home in England.

Sheila Noble, 83, says she has seen a black panther-like animal in her garden at her property in Mickleover, Derbyshire, twice since the turn of the New Year.

She claims the creature was eating bird food she had left out and was "four times" larger than a regular domestic cat.

She said: "It was about 18 inches from the floor to the top of its head and it had the biggest yellow eyes I have ever seen. We have a lot of cats in this area but this was about four times bigger. It was eating the bird food I had left on the floor. We haven't had many birds around lately and now I know why.

"I have seen pictures before of big cats and I thought it must definitely be one."

There has been another sighting of a black cat in the county in recent weeks by a woman driving in her car.

In 2010, there were four big cat sightings reported to Derbyshire police.

Reported sightings of big cats - a family group which includes leopards, panthers, lynxes and pumas - have increased dramatically in the UK in the last decade.

Experts believe the animals were released into the wild following the introduction of the Dangerous Animals Act in Britain in 1976 by worried owners.