Lalla Blackden, who lives near the Copeland Centre in South Bretton, was doing a spot of gardening when she came face-to-face with a huge, black, puma-like beast.

Only a thin wire mesh fence divided her from the strange animal, which stood just seven yards away.

The sighting has added fuel to reports of the mysterious cats prowling the countryside to the north of Peterborough, the most well-known
being the "Beast of Castor."

Lalla said: "It was the size of a big Alsatian. It was black and it turned when it felt me looking at it and stared at me with these big golden eyes.

"It has a long black tail and it walked like a big cat.

"I wasn't scared, but I was glad there was a fence between us."

Her neighbour, Thelma Coates, added: "When she told me about the creature I said, 'I've seen that.'

In March 2005, Gunthorpe man Andrew Leatherland came across a huge black animal while walking in Castor Hanglands.

He said he saw a huge black cat-like creature walking across the countryside, and his story was backed by local big cat hunter and wildlife photographer Ian Wickinson, who said he had seen the beast on numerous occasions.