'Big cat' with tail curled like a question mark seen in field of buttercups near A417

A man has shared his surprise at seeing the head of a large cat appear above the long grass while he was out walking his two dogs in Gloucestershire. The former headteacher didn't see the body of the animal, but noted that its long tail was pointed upwards and curled like a question mark.

Martin Piper, 80, from Cheltenham, is not easily startled. However, he admitted to being slightly taken aback when he spotted a large cat just 30 yards away from him and his two dogs, Polly and Percy, in a field near Bentham Lane, in Bentham, earlier this month.

He says the animal was beige and brown with dark flecks and pointy ears, and a very wide face, like a feline and it was 'beautiful'. The field was a little difficult to access as you have to navigate two styles which have brambles on either side, however when you get to the field you are met with the sigh of a natural blanket of buttercups and foot tall grass.

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Mr Piper said: "I have two dogs, one called Polly who is a Labradoodle and Percy who is a Shih Tzu cross Poodle, so I am not too sure what you would call him. We had been walking around the edge of the field and I saw a face of a big cat.

"The animal was looking at me from the top of the long grass. What struck me is that I did not see the body. However the tail was stood up and curled round like a question mark.

"It was beautiful. It had light brown and beige fur with dark markings around the eyes. I do not think it was very strange to see it, there have been other reports of big cats being seen in Cheltenham over the years.

"I had been able to watch the animal for around ten seconds. The animal was close to a copse and must have run into the wooded area before I could get near the creature."

Mr Piper decided to get in touch with wildlife enthusiast Frank Tunbridge to discuss the big cat sighting in Bentham, near the A46 and A417 between Cheltenham and Brockworth.

Frank, 76, from Podsmead said: "I received an email from a man informing me that he had seen a fairly large catlike creature whilst out walking his dogs at Bentham, Gloucestershire. He was in a meadow of over knee-high grass at the time, when suddenly ahead he saw a large cat watching him.

"Its head was above the height of the grass, but the body was hidden, with only the tail visible, and held high. The colouration was described as fawn with some dark mottling. He said that it was approximately about the same height as his labradoodle.

"After a brief observation the animal moved off into a nearby corpse of trees. Going on his description ,and colouration of the animal that he gave to me ,it could possibly be a juvenile puma he witnessed, probably hunting for voles and mice within the grassy meadow.

"I have received descriptive puma reports from around that area over the years. Some types of British big cats tend to colonise certain parts more than others, due to the type of terrain involved. In many cases I have found that puma type and lynx prefer a higher terrestrial location than the black varieties sighted.

"Great Britain has always been a magnet for introduced non-native flora and fauna. From the Normans with the rabbit, and possibly the fallow deer, to the Romans with the pheasant and the sweet chestnut tree. The Victorians also had a passion for exotic wildlife, and plants especially.

"They were searching the world for something unusual to import back home, like the monkey puzzle tree, which became a Victorian status symbol.

"More recently though, we have wild boar ploughing up playing fields in the Forest of Dean, and the non-native Muntjac deer now colonising much of Southern England and the Midlands. These are facts, but less factual to many people is the existence of big predatory cats residing in the UK.

"The consensus of opinion is that a large majority of big cats were kept as 'pets' throughout the country, along with wolves and monkeys. However they were released into the wild parts Britain after the introduction of the Dangerous Wild Animals Act 1976, when licencing restrictions became too stringent for many owners.

"With between 16 and 22 sightings of big cats reported each week across the UK, along with the occasional wolf, these animals seem to have adapted well to their new environment, especially as small deer, like Muntjac and Roe are their preferred prey, and both of these deer species are now over abundant in many parts of Britain.

"These cats are elusive and stealthy most of the time, and to see one you just have to be in the right place at the right time. "