AFTER years lurking in the shadows, it looks like the Beast of Bolton is back.

There have been numerous sightings of a mysterious black creature stalking the town dating back to 2006 – with the last being three years ago.

This time, an eyewitness has described seeing a panther-like animal with ‘greedy yellow eyes’ in Farnworth last night, Tuesday November 10.

Terrified Natalie Kay described the moment she came face to face with the elusive animal while driving her Vauxhall Zafira along Doe Hey Road at around 9.30pm.

“I was coming back from the shops and this thing just appeared in front of my car. I had to slam the brakes on,” said the 28-year-old.

“It just stopped dead right in the middle of the road and was staring at me.

“I knew it wasn’t a dog. It looked like a cat but it wasn’t. It was much bigger and had a long tail, pointed ears and these greedy yellow eyes.

“It was about the same size as the bonnet of my car. It was really scary. I haven’t seen anything like that before. The next minute it dashed off. It was really fast.”

Natalie said the beast ran down the dirt track that links Doe Hey Road to Harper Green Road, between Higher and Lower Doe Hey Reservoirs.

Shaken, Natalie returned home to Carnation Road, Farnworth, where she told mum and dad, Linda and Ray, about the encounter.

“I was trembling when I got in,” she said. “I told them about what had happened and they said something like that had been seen before.”

Natalie’s mum and dad found a picture of a black panther online, which Natalie confirmed as looking similar to what she had seen.

“I didn’t know there was anything like that around here – that other people had seen things,” she added.

“There are playing fields near where I saw it. It’s scary when you think that children play around there.

“You hear of these animals in jungles, but you wouldn’t think anything like that could live in Bolton.”

Danny Bamping of The British Big Cat Society has previously told the Bolton News that it’s ‘quite likely’ the Beast of Bolton exists.

Do you believe in the Beast of Bolton - and have you seen it? Add your thoughts below.

There have been several notable previous sightings:-