TELEVISION and radio presenter Claire Balding has spoken of her shock on encountering a mysterious giant black cat near Ross-on-Wye.

The animal was seen by Ms Balding as she worked on a recording for her BBC Radio 4 programme Ramblings.

She was being given a guided tour of the beauty spot by locals, when they saw the cat sitting in a lane.

In the actual recording for the programme, she says: "Gosh, we've walked out on to the road and turned left and sitting in the middle of the road ahead of us – honestly, I thought it was a panther.

"It was the most enormous black cat. I mean really big, like a dog size."

She continued: "I saw it! I saw it really clearly. It's just gone off slowly to the left. It just sloped, it didn't scuttle. It just very confidently walked across the road and disappeared into the woods. I'm all excited now...adrenalin's flowing."

Her guide to the beauty spot was local man Roger Smith, who told Ms Balding: "I've seen black cats the size of our Rottweiler, and our friends have seen big black cats feeding on deer carcass.

"There's always been stories of a big black cat on the Doward ever since we moved here twenty years ago – and a number of our friends have also seen it."

Her final comment on the sighting was: "I should point out I never knew the stories of a big black cat."

There have been numerous, though disputed, sightings of 'big cats' in the Forest and the Wye Valley, but this is possibly the first time that the animal has been seen clearly at close quarters by a professional broadcaster.

• Have you seen the big cats at The Doward, or locally? Let the Review team know by phone on 01594 841113 or email [email protected]">[email protected].