Big cat spotted at Welbeck landfill site in Normanton

She said: She said: “It was at the bottom of the hill near Welbeck tip. It had a long tail and was just strolling along the bottom of the hill.

“It looked about staffordshire terrier size, definitely some kind of cat from the way it moved.

“We were some distance away that's why I thought it must be really big because if it was a normal sized caty we would have missed it.”

Last November, Jeff Johnson, from Normanton, was heading out for a run, driving near Heath Common when he filmed what appeared to be a big cat.

It began a string of recent and historical reports of big cat sightings in the Wakefield district and across West Yorkshire.

Cheryl Tweedale reported a sighting in Flanshaw, Wakefield.

She said: "I saw this big cat about three year ago in my horses’ field. It was Halloween night and I went to check on my horses.

"I shone the torch to where they were standing and as I brought the light round I saw another set of eyes they closed as the light hit them.

"The next morning I went back into the field and saw a big black cat half the size of my horse walk into the bushes. Its tail was almost as long as its body.

"I am 100 per cent sure this wasn't normal. I called the police and they said they were going to set traps in myfield to try to catch it but I never heard anything from them after that.”

Denise Barnes said: “I too saw one near Saddleworth next to a labrador type, a large jet black cat. It was the same size as a dog.

“My partner laughed as I told him and wouldn’t turn the car around to go look.”

Richard Strauss from Calderdale shared his account.

He said: “Our dog went missing around that time and when we searched we found out farmers had been having sheep go missing and finding the carcasses so it was definitely hunting in the wild and possibly ate our dog.”

Contact [email protected] with your sightings.