A big cat is on the loose in Cornwall, police have said, after they made a plaster cast of a paw print left in the garden where a family dog was mauled.

Police and the RSPCA say the paw print is far too large to be that of a domesticated cat, leading some to believe the myth of the big cats roaming Dartmoor to be true.

It has been claimed that three pumas were released onto the wilds of Dartmoor by the late Mary Chipperfield, the famous circus owner, after her zoo in Plymouth closed in 1978. Her husband has denied the claims.

There have been reports of big cats on the prowl around Dartmoor for years, and now dogs in the area are facing mysterious injuries.

Officials have confirmed the prints - measuring almost five inches - are that of a big cat and police say "something has been here which should not be".