Suspected 'big cat' caught on CCTV in Mostyn

Resident Lewis checked his cameras after hearing noises outside his home in the early hours of Thursday, September 23.

When he looked at the footage, he saw a mystery creature had been in the garden at about 1.15am.

He reported the sighting to Puma Watch North Wales, a group set up to investigate and document such sightings.

Big cat sighting in Mostyn. Image: Puma Watch North Wales

He said: “I heard noises coming from outside, I decided to check the cameras and I spotted that.

“I thought nothing of it at first but decided to snap a picture via the camera app anyway.

“I checked it again about half an hour later and it was gone.”

Although it is not clear what the suspected animal in the image is, a wheelbarrow in the foreground suggests that it is larger than an average domestic cat.

Puma Watch founder Tony Jones says that Mostyn and the surrounding area has seen a cluster of sightings in recent years.

Big cat sighting in Mostyn. Image: Puma Watch North Wales

He said: "It’s not the first time big cats have been spotted in the area. We previously shared a terrifying tale of a big cat mauling a large dog near Mostyn Docks, along with multiple sightings at nearby Whitford and Abakhan Fabrics.

"And a few miles away in Holywell, a big cat was caught on CCTV by staff at a supported living accommodation several times within a few days back in July. In June, a black panther was spotted along the coast in Rhyl.

"A suspected puma was also spotted few miles away at Rhuallt Hill back in January. Footprints were also found in Meliden over winter, with many other nearby sightings featured on our interactive map."

However, rural Flintshire is known for producing particularly large farm moggies, some of which are adopted as domestic pets.

One of them hit the national headlines earlier this year when he was caught on video in Trelogan.

Sheldon, weighing in at 6kg and measuring 88cm head to tail, was mistaken for a puma or panther.

Although some sightings have been explained, Tony thinks there is evidence of a small population of puma-like cats in North Wales.

He added: "Big cats such as pumas are solitary with a hunting range of dozens of miles. They’re mostly spotted in Snowdonia and the Clwydian hills but reports of sightings in urban locations some distance from these areas are becoming more frequent.

"As seen with Llandundo’s now-famous goats, who have taken to roaming the town’s deserted streets during the coronavirus lockdowns, it’s likely that the reduced levels of human activity over the last year is encouraging big cats to roam further from the hills into more populated areas."