Puma spotted by train driver near Stockton among reported Teesside 'big cat' sightings

There have been four reports of big cats on Teesside, according to details released under Freedom of Information laws

Pumas and panthers have made the North-east their prowling ground – if you believe the public.

Cleveland Police officers have looked into four reports of big cats on Teesside, according to details released under Freedom of Information laws.

The figure was among 102 such reports of black panther-like creatures spotted across the UK since 2011.

They range from a train driver near Stockton who saw a puma in a field from his cab, to a 14-year-old girl who reported seeing a “black panther” in Stillington.

The other two sightings, both in Stockton, included a “very large black cat, possibly a puma”, prowling the popular woodland park Castle Eden Walkway, and a “big cat that looked like a puma” on Concorde Way.

But experts said the evidence for big cats in Britain was shaky at best and that most sightings were probably “mistaken identity”.

However, Ian Bond, an ecologist from Darlington who has sifted through more than 200 big cat reports, said he would be surprised if there weren’t some real sightings out there.

He said: “Over the years I’ve had good, plausible sightings by people who are familiar with wildlife and had something to judge the scale by.

“Last year, customs seized eight big cats being smuggled into the country illegally. Who’s to say they seize all of them?”

He cited a European lynx nicknamed the “Beast of Barnet” caught alive in North London in 2001 – one of the few watertight cases of big cats in Britain.

But he said most sightings are probably “mistaken identity”, and claimed there cannot be enough of the beasts to breed.

But a statement from the RSPCA said: “Stories such as this, which occur from time to time across Britain, are perplexing.

“The evidence to suggest that colonies of big cats are living and breeding in Britain is scarce to say the least.”

And Dr Joan Harvey, a senior lecturer in psychology at Newcastle University, claimed people may see what they want or expect to see. She said: “We all like a little bit of a mystery that doesn’t actually threaten us or impinge on us. It stirs the imagination. I wouldn’t belittle people who’ve seen big cats at all, but your perception can play tricks.”