'Pershore Panther' spotted in wetlands by Worcestershire man

That's the question now being asked after a walker became the latest to claim he had spotted the Pershore Panther. 

Jason Neville told the BBC how he saw it on Boxing Day while walking on wetlands in Pershore and was so concerned he called the police. 

Mr Neville said: "It just came out of the reeds up ahead and started walking towards us.

"That's when the dog went absolutely bananas.

"It stopped as the dog was barking and it then turned around. 

RETURN: A black panther has again been spotted in Worcestershire - stock picture (Image: jlazouphoto/Getty Image)

"The pathway is maybe 7ft - 8ft wide and as it turned it virtually covered the entire pathway.

"It was very close, there was no mistaking that it was a big cat.

"Originally when I first saw it I thought it was a dog.

"But I was that close, you couldn't be mistaken."

Mr Neville said the sighting, at 8.45am, had not put him off walking in the area again but said he certainly would not take his dog off the lead. 

Mr Neville said he had also seen what were the remains of a "huge" carcass which he thought was probably a goose, on the back pitch of Pershore Town football pitch.

"It has no innards, so it had been eaten in its entirety, just the wings left. 

"A fox was trying to drag the carcass off, but it couldn't drag it. 

"It was too big.

"I didn't put two-and-two together until a week later until I saw the Pershore panther."

SIGHTINGS: There have been various sightings of a panther in Worcestershire over the years - stock picture (Image: Getty Images)

Mr Neville said he had worried about the ridicule of going public about the sighting.

"Then I thought I'm just going to throw it out there to see if anyone else had seen it," he said. 

"I'm obviously worried for other dogs and dog walkers, so people are aware there is something out there that could go off with a dog."

Mr Neville added he had not had a chance to take a picture of the panther as he had just seconds to snap it. 

There have been various sightings of a panther-like animal for decades - but no conclusive proof of a black panther’s existence has ever been made known.

READ MORE: Big cat sightings 'spotted' across Worcestershire

READ MORE: Pensioner spots 'panther' 

We reported on sightings in 2016. 

And in 2017 pensioner David Wherton said he had seen a “muscular” cat-like creature while walking home from the shops.