A motorist was left gobsmacked after he caught sight of what appeared to be a ‘panther-like’ big cat in a field. Geoff Thompson, 37, was driving between Great Witley and Martley, Worcestershire, when he had his encounter.

The classic car aficionado and YouTuber had pulled over to snap some shots of his cherished Renault 10 when he noticed an unusual presence in the distance on Sunday (April 14). Upon closer inspection, he discovered the creature’s footprints and is convinced it was a panther.

Geoff, from Worcester, said: “I just went out for a sunny drive - I noticed it as I started photographing my car. I think it was a panther.”

Captured in a 24-second clip on his mobile, Geoff can be heard questioning, "What the heck is that animal? ! ". Determined to gather evidence, Geoff, who runs the YouTube channel Geoff Buys Cars, ventured into the field to track down the mysterious animal and its tracks.

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Geoff, who has been fascinated by big cats since childhood, found the encounter quite amusing, saying: “Big cats have always been a bit of an obsession, fascination of mine since I was a kid so to actually see something odd while out and about is pretty funny in my book.”

He got in touch with big cat researcher and filmmaker, Tim Whittard, who produced the award-winning documentary ‘Panthera Britannia Declassified’, which claims to prove that big cats are living in wilderness of rural Britain.

Tim, 38, of Gloucester, shared the video with other experts. He explained: “I have had some of my colleagues look over it and while we can’t definitively say it was a big cat, the possibility remains on the table.

''It absolutely could have been a big cat. Consensus seems to suggest that the majority of the tracks photographed are more likely to be dog than anything else, so whilst the tracks do not yield positive proof, the video of the sighting itself is very organic, very natural and we can’t rule out a cat.