Britain's big cat outbreak could be wider than first feared - after a man claims he has spotted one twice in a second county.
Steve Swatton, 63, claims he has also seen a large fawn cat and a large black cat on the outskirts of his home city of Plympton, Devon.
He spoke out after reading about the recent sightings and incidents in Harrowbarrow and Callington in Cornwall
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Becky Abrey was celebrating her birthday with a family meal when she spotted the huge beast believed to be the size of an Alsatian this weekend
Steve Swatton, 63, who claims he has seen a large black cat on the outskirts of his home city of Plymouth
And he said his own experiences in Plymouth, Devon, are evidence that big cats are on the prowl across a much wider area.
Mr Swatton, co-owner of Flex Fitness gym, said the first time he saw a big cat in Plympton.
Ms Abrey was celebrating her 29th birthday with a family meal when she spotted the huge beast in a car park by Praa Sands' beach in Cornwall
He said: 'It was probably about 50 yards in front of me, I saw a real big cat and I knew it wasn't a normal cat because of the tail.
'It was fawn in colour and had a dark brown mask on its face. It looked just like a Burmese cat but three times the size and it had a collar on.
'I looked in all the books, it was a bit of a mystery.'
Mr Swatton then read about a similar cat sighting and discussed what he saw at the pub.
He said that he was met with laughs, but one gentleman overheard the conversation and came over to explain where he believed the cats had came from.
Mr Swatton said: 'Someone came over and said I believe you, I live in a house over in the next field.'
The man told Mr Swatton that he used to work at a local Wildlife Park and helped build mesh cages for the big cats.
A large panther-like big cat is thought to be stalking the small Cornwall village of Harrowbarrow. Prints of the animal were left in the garden of James Stephenson, 23, and later examined by the RSPCA who confirmed they were from a 'large cat'
Mr Swatton said: '[The man said] 'I could see the runs I was making were not going to hold as it was chicken wire', that solved that mystery.'
Mr Swatton said he saw a 'huge black panther' on a second occasion when he was walking with his friend's son, Brad Bugdale, near Sparkwell Village in Devon.
Mr Swatton drew the creature as he doesn't own a phone and couldn't capture the beast.
He added: 'I couldn't understand why nobody else saw it. It was watching us watch it, it was very tall and very muscly. It was the same sort of shape as a greyhound but bigger and bulkier.
James Stephenson of Harrowbarrow, near Callington, Cornwall pictured with cross collie puppy Maisy. The 23-year-old was walking his other dog, 4-year-old labrador, Marley when it was attacked by a large panther-like cat leaving it with several cuts from the unknown beat's claws
'It was about five to six feet long, with a tail about 5ft long.
Although not scared, Mr Swatton said the sighting took the pair by surprise.
He said: 'It was very sleek and about the size of an Alsatian. It was like looking at a shadow as it was jet black, as black as you can get.
'It was very powerful looking and its tail was very long too.
'What struck me about its tail was where it hung down its hindquarters it was very long and the same thickness all the way down. It was a perfect bow shape; if you put a piece of string across it, it would look like a strung bow.'
Maisy the collie puppy belonging to James Stephenson is scared to go outside after a big cat attack. A large panther-like big cat is stalking a small village where several pets have disappeared, police and the RSPCA have confirmed. Fears were raised for the safety of children and animals after FIVE cats went missing in a week - and a dog attacked by a 'panther or puma'.
He added: 'It was watching us and I think we spotted each other at the same time as we were about 50 - 60 yards away.
'Then all of a sudden it disappeared and hopped over a hedge into the scrub land which leads into the forest.
'I ran up there as I thought there might be a chance of seeing it, but it was gone.
'It was probably more scared of us than us of it. I wasn't that scared at the time but thinking about it now if I had been cornered it could have got a bit nasty, as it probably weighs about 60/70lbs - heavy enough to bring a deer down.'
Ms Aubrey's sighting came just days after James Stephenson, 23, said his dog was left bleeding from its injuries and with claw marks on its shoulder
Shortly after that, a man visited Mr Swatton at his gym to say he believed he had 'unintentionally' killed the large cat.
Mr Swatton added: 'He was coming back from up north on the A38 near Ivybridge and it was 1am and pitch black.
'He told me that he looked up and there was huge black cat that looked like a jaguar, he said he didn't have time to put his breaks on.
'It did £1,000 worth of damage to the car.'
Mr Swatton said he 'feels sorry' for the people who are currently speaking out about big cat sightings in Devon and Cornwall, as they are rarely believed and end up being 'ridiculed'.
Last week, residents in the village of Harrowbarrow revealed they were being stalked by a suspected puma or panther.
James Stephenson told of how the animal attacked his Labrador Marley and later ran at him in his garden, as it emerged that several cats have gone missing from the village near Callington.
There was also a sighting at the weekend in Praa Sands, near Penzance in which Becky Abrey captured the black cat on video.
Mr Swatton said: 'There's loads of them around, I feel sorry for people that do get trouble with them as they get ridiculed for it.
'I know at least nine people who have seen it.
'Those cats are getting braver as they are getting used to us. It's only going to be a matter of time before someone is seriously injured.'
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News Photo Big cat fears grow in South West as gym boss spots large feline in Devon- after spate of sightings
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