NEW photos which show the possible paw prints of a big cat prowling in Worcestershire have been shared on a big cat group dedicated to understanding more about the elusive animals.

The images, which we do not have permission to share, show paw prints in Gibbs Lane, Offenham as one dog owner said his Jack Russell has been 'spooked'.

However, a description and images of the prints were shared on the Evesham and Villages Big Cat Group on Facebook which now has more than 1,200 members. 

He wrote: "For a few weeks my Jack Russell has been VERY spooked up there. Standing still and sniffing the air constantly. Once she refused to go on any further and headed for home, a good indication there was something she was scared of.

"She normally tries to take on the biggest dog she can find, so very unusual behaviour."

Some members of the group believed the prints were made by a dog rather than a big cat and the jury remains out on whether there are big cats, possibly a leopard, on the loose in Worcestershire.

The Worcestershire Wildlife Trust says more evidence is still needed to prove big cats are living wild in the county.

Meanwhile, other members of the big cats group continue to come forward with sightings, recent and historic including near Stratford in neighbouring Warwickshire.

One member described 'regular' encounters with a 'large panther like cat' near Tenbury Wells between 1984 and 1994.

"I has a large, panther-like cat come out of the field on my left hand side while driving. My sightings always seem to be on the same stretch of road and always in the same in the area of people who had lambs in small fields," he said.

Meanwhile, trail cams have been set up in the Cumbria countryside following a reported sighting of a big cat and her cub.

A report came into a dedicated Big Cats Facebook group that a couple spotted the feline, described as a 'large black cat',  alongside her cub.

The myth of the elusive 'Beast of Cumbria' is believed to have started when big cats kept as pets in the 1970s were released due to licensing changes. 

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Big cat investigator Sharon Larkin-Snowden, who discovered Panthera DNA on a sheep's carcass in Cumbria in May of this year, posted the latest sighting reported to be by a couple in the group.

With DNA evidence of a big cat in Cumbria, found on a kill, and closer to home in neighbouring Gloucestershire, people living in Worcestershire continue to report more sightings.

However, the elusive proof which would prove beyond doubt the powerful predators are prowling closer to home has yet to emerge. 

Strands of hair belonging to a leopard species Panthera Pardus have already been found on a barbed wire fence at a farm in neighbouring Gloucestershire following an attack on a sheep in 2022.