There have been more sightings of a big cat in Hazel Grove.

We reported how semi-retired businessman Peter Jackson had spotted the ‘mountain lion’ type creature in the back garden of his Longnor Road home.

The 54-year-old was woken by the barking of his pet dog on January 16 and spotted what he described as a ‘large black cat’.

Police later issued a warning saying that anyone seeing it should not approach it.

Jean Bruckshaw, 80, of Grendale Avenue, contacted us to say she had seen the cat the day before Mr Jackson.

She said: “At the time I was washing the dishes and looked out of the back window and saw a large black cat prowling in a neighbour’s garden.

“It had a big tail similar to a fox but not a brushy one, and I can say I have never seen such a huge cat before.

“My neighbour also said that she had seen it.”

Mrs Bruckshaw said she thought the cat made its escape onto a railway embankment behind her street.

Mr Jackson described the animal as about four-and-a-half feet in length, with a tail of similar size, three-feet tall, with a shiny black coat and bronze coloured eyes. Experts believe it could be a savannah – a domestic hybrid cat that is a cross between a serval and a domestic cat.

Another neighbour, who did not wished to be named, said: “People are concerned about this animal and have been taking in their rabbits and pets from the garden as a precaution and I know of other people who have stopped using the Lyme Road/Chester Road cut through after dark, for fear the animal may attack.”