The creature dubbed 'The Beast of Otmoor' was first spotted by 15-year-old schoolboy Lewis Watson in his own back garden in Fewcott in July 1994. Watson's mother told the Daily Express that her son had heard something creeping up behind him and turned, expecting to see the family labrador, only to find himself staring down a "huge black cat which looked him in the eyes and then loped off".

Another Fewcott resident, Mrs Pat Warner, 50, claimed to have captured a photo of the big cat climbing a dead elm tree in her back garden. The photo is extremely blurry, but if you squint enough you may be able to convince yourself that the dark shape is a big cat of some kind!

Although far-fetched, the Bicester police apparently took the reports seriously enough to issue a statement. The excellently-named Inspector Jim McBeth stated "There is no doubt that we have some wild cat in the area" and warned the public to not attempt to tackle or catch the creature should they encounter it.

In August 1994, the Bucks Herald ran a follow-up story where it contrasted the alleged big cat sightings around Otmoor with others throughout the region. In one report, a couple claimed that they were parked at a beauty spot near Aylesbury when a 'puma-like beast' collided with them, leaving a large dent in the side of their car. I'd be interested to know if their car insurance covered big cat damage!

The same article claimed there had also been six sightings near Milton Keynes, five near Oxford and one in Saunderton, Bucks, suggesting either multiple big cats or a single big cat that roams extremely widely.

A post on the now-defunct website www.noexpressway.org claimed big cat sightings around Otmoor as recently as 2017, when a woman saw a creature crossing the road in broad daylight in Upper Arncott, as well as sightings near Horton-cum-Studley, and as far west as Stonesfield.

While these reports may seem far-fetched, there are some that take them very seriously. In 1994, the Bucks Herald interviewed Douglas Richardson, then London Zoo's resident big cat expert, who estimated there to have been around 40 pumas and panthers living wild in England.

It is claimed that many big cats were released from private collections in the late 1970s after the government began to require expensive Dangerous Animal Licenses in order to keep big cats as pets. Could some of the sightings could be of the descendants of these ex-pets?

Mr Richardson claimed to receive around six reports of big cat sightings a week, and while he admitted some were clearly hoaxes, many reports were convincing enough to warrant serious investigation.

It has been more than 30 years since news of large cats prowling the fields of Otmoor appeared in the press. To my knowledge, no wild big cats have ever been captured by the authorities in Oxfordshire, nor has any credible video footage of them surfaced. Were all of the claims false, or are Oxfordshire's big cats just far more stealthy and elusive than we realise?