Farmer fears he's had a visit from the Beast of Ryedale

3:44pm Wednesday 17th October 2007

Comments (0)   Have your say »

A FARMER who discovered five-inch paw prints on his land fears they could belong to the infamous Beast of Ryedale.

Robert Rogers was checking crops at Poplar Farm in East Heslerton, near Malton, North Yorkshire, on Sunday evening when he came across the tracks.

He said he had always dismissed tales of the so-called Beast of Ryedale, but was now having a rethink.

"I was checking my winter barley crop as the sun was going down and I happened to notice a huge paw print and then three others," said Mr Rogers.

"Being a farmer I have seen all kind of animal tracks but this was something far larger than a badger or a fox. There were no claw marks and I have had friends down to look at them and they have come to the same conclusion as me."

He added: "I had always rubbished the idea of big cats living in the area but this has definitely changed my mind."

In 1995, police in Malton opened a file on the Beast of Ryedale when a cream-coloured puma-type animal was spotted by a passenger on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway.

A contingency plan was drawn up to deal with the animal, under which firearms officers accompanied by a vet would attempt to tranquilise it. Since then numerous other sightings of big cats have been reported.

Mr Rogers said discovering the prints on his land had made him wary about venturing out into the fields at night.

He added: "It has given me the creeps to be honest. My son is 20 and over 6ft tall and he said there's no way he is going down there with a big animal on the loose."