RETIRED Beryl Bond was left awe-struck after spotting a large lynx-like cat crossing the road right in front of her before disappearing into the undergrowth.

The 63-year-old of Rowan Close, Holtspur, Beaconsfield, was driving along Sheepcote Lane, in Wooburn Common, at 4pm on Friday when she saw the sandy coloured large cat.

She said: "I just noticed something large moving slowly out of the corner of my left eye. It was about two foot tall, four foot long and was a brown sandy colour with like a brown mottled effect. Like a Tabby but so much bigger. I couldn't believe it just walking across the road right in front of me. It was almost crawling on its belly very close to the ground and didn't seem to be at all bothered by the car."

She thinks the cat was on the prowl in a nearby farm and maybe lives in the wood that runs along Sheepcote Lane.

She said: "Perhaps it was killing and eating the livestock although I didn't notice any blood. I had my side lights on but he didn't seem to notice or pay attention. I stopped my car and was close enough to notice that the end of his tail was missing-like he'd had it caught in barbed wire. I could also make out brown mottles on his skin. No way was he a domestic cat."

National 'Big Cat' expert Quentin Rose, confirmed that Buckinghamshire has had confirmed sightings of puma and leopard in the past.

He said: "It may be a very large tabby cat. I've been surprised by the size of some domestic cats. Often people are so shocked at seeing a cat that big it's common to over-exaggerate its size. It's a possibility it may have been a puma or a leopard but before looking at the evidence it's impossible to tell."

If you've seen a big cat call reporter Michelle Fleming on 01494 755151