Big cat sightings have been getting more and more common throughout Britain in recent years, with people swearing that they had seen a black panther or some other type of big cat on the prowl. Even their footprints are sometimes supposedly found. Some people believe that there are big cats on the prowl around the country whereas other people think that people's imaginations are running riot.
But have those who believe that big cats are prowling Britain finally got the proof they need?
Essex Police have told residents in the town of St Osyth near Clacton-on-Sea to be weary after a lion was seen and heard late last night.
A group of people had been walking close to fields near Clacton-on-Sea, in Essex, just north east of London, around 7pm last night and saw what can only be described as a lion. One of them even took a photo of the beast.
Other people nearby didn't see the lion - but heard the roar of a big cat.
Searching: Today police were seen patrolling areas around Earls Hall Farm in St Osyth (pictured), near Clacton, Essex, not far from where the lion was spotted near a caravan site
Beware: Village green at St Osyth near to where the beast is believed to have been spotted
Police hunt: Armed police are hunting a lion which was spotted in fields near a caravan site in St Osyth, Essex
Staff at the nearby Colchester Zoo has said that the lion isn't one of theirs and a circus which performed in the area recently has said that it hasn't had any lions.
The lion isn't the only big cat spotted in England recently. A black panther was spotted at Cleeve Hill in the Cotswolds in Gloucestershire by driver Kieran Bourne, 30, in the early hours of this morning.
Essex
St Osyth
But have those who believe that big cats are prowling Britain finally got the proof they need?
Essex Police have told residents in the town of St Osyth near Clacton-on-Sea to be weary after a lion was seen and heard late last night.
A group of people had been walking close to fields near Clacton-on-Sea, in Essex, just north east of London, around 7pm last night and saw what can only be described as a lion. One of them even took a photo of the beast.
Other people nearby didn't see the lion - but heard the roar of a big cat.
One witness described onlookers screaming as they came face to face with the predator.
Rich Baker, 39, was walking with his two boys, aged nine and 11 when the drama unfolded.
He said: 'A man started running towards us yelling "It’s a f****** lion!" He looked so panicked you knew it was not a joke. The lion you could see it from the side.’
The van driver, from Romford, Essex, continued: 'I grabbed my children’s hands and we ran towards our caravan. My children started to scream, “daddy, is the lion going to get us?”
Searching: Today police were seen patrolling areas around Earls Hall Farm in St Osyth (pictured), near Clacton, Essex, not far from where the lion was spotted near a caravan site
'It was one million per cent a lion. It was a tan colour with a big mane, it was fully grown, it was definitely a lion. It was just standing there, it seemed to be enjoying itself.
'There were a dozen or so people who saw it. We are staying on the caravan park down the road. It’s very busy – it’s a seaside resort and a bank holiday.’
Che Kevlin, 40, who lives nearby the scene of the drama, described hearing the lion roar.
He said: 'I was sitting with my wife in the front room playing backgammon at around 10pm when I heard this very loud roar.
'I asked my wife if she’d heard something, it was so odd. I went upstairs to check on my 11-year-old son, but he was fast asleep.
'It was incredibly odd to hear something like that at that time of night.
'We had been for a walk earlier in the day and heard a police helicopter but didn’t realise they were looking for a lion.
'We were trying to work out what the roar was. It was not until my brother texted me 20 minutes later and said there’s a lion on the loose in your area that we realised what exactly it was.
'My guess is that it was in the fields or woods behind our house.
'It was very, very loud. I’ve only heard what a lion sounds like on TV wildlife programmes, but it was definitely that.’
Those who took the photo of the beast passed it on to the cops. Two force helicopters and around 30 police officers were scrambled after locals reported the sighting.
Police hunt: Armed police are hunting a lion which was spotted in fields near a caravan site in St Osyth, Essex
Staff at the nearby Colchester Zoo has said that the lion isn't one of theirs and a circus which performed in the area recently has said that it hasn't had any lions.
The lion isn't the only big cat spotted in England recently. A black panther was spotted at Cleeve Hill in the Cotswolds in Gloucestershire by driver Kieran Bourne, 30, in the early hours of this morning.
Essex
St Osyth
Last edited: