Chilling CCTV captures big cat ‘as tall as car bonnet’ prowling streets in UK town

A dog-sized animal was captured on film at 2am, setting off Steven Searle’s CCTV at the home in Malvern, Worcs, which usually only activates for people or cars

A mysterious creature thought to be a large cat has been caught on camera stalking a driveway in a quiet town. Steven Searle’s security system filmed the animal as it wandered past his neighbour’s home. The short nocturnal clip shows the canine-sized beast padding alongside the boundary fence. It then strolls past the entrance before vanishing into the night.

Steven, 51, was stunned by the encounter at around 2am on Sunday (December 28). He has been living at the Malvern, Worcs, address for about a year. “I woke up at 2.23am as our CCTV was set off and caught what looks to be a black jaguar type big cat walking up the neighbour’s path,” the big cat spotter said.

“It triggered the CCTV so it is big. None of the domestic cats in the close have ever done that. It was head height to the bonnet of a car and bigger than a normal cat.

“It clearly walked past the car and gate next door. If it had been on my drive it would have been a much better view. Normal cats do not set off the CCTV due to how I’ve set it up.”

“It only ever gets triggered by people or cars. I set it like that so it doesn’t go off all the time. Our neighbour up the road said he saw something bigger than a domestic cat too but he has no recording.

“He was up late and saw a large animal walk past his house. I was shocked at the size of what I saw.”

Last year, an expert revealed that up to 100 big cats might be wandering wild throughout the British countryside. Professor Robin Allaby has unearthed DNA evidence of big cats in the wild within the UK.

The Warwick University expert made this discovery while analysing a sample from a sheep carcass found in the Lake District.

The analysis revealed DNA from the ‘Panthera genus’, suggesting it could only have come from a lion, leopard, tiger, jaguar or snow leopard. The sheep’s remains were discovered in Cumbria by Sharon Larkin-Snowden.

This isn’t the first time a predator has been suspected in Worcestershire. In June, a mutilated animal corpse was found in Bewdley, sparking fears of a big cat on the loose.

A half-eaten deer carcass was found with its insides devoured in the Wyre Forest on the town’s outskirts. Jessica Lodge, who stumbled upon the scene, admitted she had never witnessed “anything like this before”.

She explained: “I haven’t seen anything like this before and this is an area I go to a lot. We were there during the day and the deer was not there. And we went back the day after and that’s when we found it.”

She further added: “It had most certainly been put there to be eaten. It was an enclosed area with barbed wire fencing in the Wyre forest. It definitely didn’t just die in the middle of a bramble bush.

“Definitely never seen anything like it before. I absolutely think it’s possible it was done by a big cat. There have been other sightings too.”