A CYCLIST claims to have had a run-in with a pair of big black cats on his way to work.

Gavin Elliott-Turner, of The Moor, Melbourn, says he saw the two creatures as he was pedalling along Fowlmere Road, Melbourn, last Wednesday.

He said: “There were a pair of them sitting in the snow looking at me, if it hadn’t been for the contrast with the snow I don’t think I would have seen them.

“It was about 6am and I was on my way to work. I was cycling past and noticed these glowing eyes on the side of the road so stopped to have a look. They were about 30 feet from me.”

Mr Elliott-Turner, who is senior exhibitions technician at the Imperial War Museum, Duxford, said the creatures stared at him for a few seconds before turning and moving off into the countryside.

He said: “I swung the head lamp of my bike around and watched them run off across a field. They were both about four feet long and three feet tall, and had really long tails. They had left big paw prints in the snow.

“I’ve looked on the internet and I think they looked like black leopards. The thing which concerned me is that it was a pair of them, it was quite scary.”

Big cat sightings have been common in Crow country in recent years. Two years ago, Shepreth Wildlife Park set up an investigation to try and capture one of the beasts on camera, but its hunt was unsuccessful.

Rebecca Willers, animal manager at Shepreth Wildlife Park, said: “This is the first sighting we’ve heard about for a while, we haven’t had any reports recently.”

A spokesman for Cambridgeshire police said: “We were called by a man who reported seeing two black panthers at about 6.30am on Wednesday, December 5, on the way to Melbourn. We have recorded the report.”

? Have you seen the Crow country cat? Call 07785 616246 or email news@royston-crow.co.uk