WORCESTERSHIRE has emerged as one of the hotspots for mystery big cat sightings in Britain.

There were 48 sightings in Herefordshire and Worcestershire between April 2004 and July last year, while in neighbouring county Warwickshire there were only two.

Rumours of a big wild animal stalking the Worcestershire countryside have been rife for years after numerous sightings of the so-called Beast of Ankerdine, in woods near Knightwick.

The figures are revealed in a survey compiled by the British Big Cats Society, which said there were 2,123 sightings last year, compared with just 780 three years ago.

The report, which is in next month's issue of BBC Wildlife magazine, said: "Stories of such creatures have fired public imagination for 30 years. Despite the Press hype and hoaxes, the sightings keep coming."

According to the survey, the most sightings were in Devon, which recorded 132 during the same period.

Neighbouring Gloucestershire had the fifth highest figure of 104 sightings.

Chris Mullins, of Beastwatch UK, who has investigated the mystery animal on Ankerdine Hill, said he thought most of the beasts were the offspring of pets released after the introduction of the Dangerous and Wild Animals Act in 1974.

"There are many of these animals around and they are mainly leopards, pumas, lynxes, that kind of thing," he said. "People continue to be fascinated because these exotic animals are so different from what's usually seen in our countryside.

"I'm sure they're still breeding because sometimes the creatures are seen in pairs and the sightings are not decreasing."

Mr Mullins did not manage to track down the Beast of Ankerdine because he was not allowed to set up a camp on the land when he tried last year. However, the department of Environment Food and Rural Affairs

is not convinced that these beasts actually exist.

A department spokesman told the magazine: "To date, Defra has found no conclusive evidence of breeding populations of big cats in the wild

in Britain."

Mr Mullins wants to hear from anyone who has seen a beast. Call 01509 551621.