Tales of the 'Beast of Essex' that is said to leave residents 'wary to go out at night'
Living in a fairly built-up area like Essex it's fair to say that 'big cat' sightings would be quite rare. But in the past few decades, there have been a number of sightings of a large animal prowling through Essex - including one such claim by a resident said to have been left wary to leave their home at night.
One such rumour is of a so-called 'Beast of Essex' that is thought to look like a black panther or puma. Legends of a black ghost dog, known as the black shuck, have existed across East Anglia and Essex for centuries.
Almost 100 years ago a midwife allegedly spotted the dog when riding home one night in Tolleshunt D'Arcy. But sightings of the dog are said to be far less common than those of big cats.
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Possible sightings in Sible Hedingham and Great Notley have sparked yet more debate over the beast's existence. There is not a huge amount of concrete evidence to support any such existence - but there have been plenty of reported sightings.
In 2000 John Hancock, the founder of the Essex Big Cat Research Project, revealed the possibility of some sort of big cat roaming fields in Essex. He claimed: "It is likely that people are seeing the black leopard or the panther. Although people may think the county would not be suitable for these animals to live, it still appears to provide the necessary cover, food and living conditions."
Three years later retired farmer Jim Martin claimed to spot a cat on the outskirts of Witham. He said he "realised it was far too big to be a normal cat" and it was "very broad across the jaw bone and eyes and was a dark brown colour".
Fast forward to 2012 and police carried out a 24-hour search for an 'Essex Lion' that was reportedly on the loose near holiday parks in St Osyth. But the lengthy search, using trained marksmen, ended with police saying the lion was in fact just a big cat or dog.
In 2016 a new beast was said to make locals 'shiver with fear'. It was known as the Beast of Broomfield. But the so-called beast actually turned out to be a rather large missing Bengal Cat by the name of Dougal, who lived nearby.
David Stow was on his way to Tesco in Great Notley in December 2017 when he claimed to see something that 'looks like a big leopard or panther'. He added: "I'm 100 per cent certain that it was a black leopard - it was going across the field in to the far side of the trees."
A year later Michelle Woodall was walking her dog in Sible Hedingham when she came across the beast She is said to have watched the feline take up to six strides before it disappeared into the woodland footpath by the River Colne. All in all, Michelle reportedly found at least two dozen 10cm pawprints.
The most recent sighting of a possible big cat was in 2019 when Tim Davies, from Dunmow, was looking out his garage window and saw a 'big black thing' reportedly strolling across the open field behind his house. Tim said he was left in disbelief after allegedly spotting the animal and left him feeling wary of leaving his house at night.