ANOTHER ‘big cat’ sighting in the Lake District has re-opened the debate about what the mysterious animal may be.

For years, Westmorland Gazette readers have reported seeing large cats at various places across Cumbria and Lancashire.

Startled Windermere pensioner Brian Jowett claims he saw the curious creature in the early hours the week before Christmas.

Awoken during the night, Mr Jowett noticed security lights come on at his home at Rowanrigg, on Lake Road.

He looked out and saw an animal measuring around two feet long with a bushy tail, which he first believed was a fox.

But on closer inspection, the 82-year-old realised he was looking at something he had never seen before.

“It was a very large cat, very much like a striped tabby cat with very pronounced rings around its bushy tail, and pointed ears,” said Mr Jowett.

“I watched it for about four or five minutes, it looked at me, panicked and went off.”

Mr Jowett said he was surprised by his encounter with the fawn-coloured creature as wildcats in the UK are usually found north of the border.

“From information on the Internet, it would appear to be a wildcat but they are not supposed to be anywhere other then remote parts of Scotland,” he added.

“I was very surprised. It was strange - we have chickens, which I checked the following day but they hadn’t been disturbed.”

David Harpley, senior conservation officer at Cumbria Wildlife Trust, said the animal might have been a large domestic cat.

He also suggested it could be an otter, which people do not often see on dry land.

“There are a number of theories about what these things are - one is that they are big cats living free, but it seems a bit unlikely,” said Mr Harpley.

“The other is that people are probably not used to seeing male otters, particularly male otters, on dry land.

“Otters move across dry land in order to get from one water course to another. It’s a big animal and people might confuse these, potentially, with big cats.”

Mr Harpley added that a large puma-type cat would measure about four or five feet long.

“I would guess this was a large domestic cat,” he said.