RESIDENTS are being warned to be on their guard following sightings of a big cat in Bournemouth and on the outskirts of Christchurch.

A shocked security guard alerted police at the weekend after spotting a large black cat while on patrol at a Hurn industrial estate.

Dorset police wildlife officer PC John Snellin said: "He was so frightened by what he thought was a puma that he armed himself with a lump of wood to defend himself. No attack took place."

And a night out in Bournemouth ended in terror for a Wiltshire man who claims he spotted a puma on the prowl on the resort's West Cliff.

Kevin Hamersley, 24, was walking along Exeter Road with a friend on Saturday night when they were confronted by the beast.

"I'd had a few drinks earlier but not enough to make me see things that weren't there," he insisted. "We were rooted to the spot when we spotted the big cat between two parked cars.

"It just stared at us for about three minutes before running behind the vehicles and disappearing.

"Pumas are meat eaters so once it had scurried off we didn't hang around. When we got back to our hotel and told our friends what had happened they didn't believe us.

"It was only when I got back home and checked puma images on the internet that I realised exactly what it was.

"I'm now convinced there is a puma on the loose in Bournemouth and that local people could be in danger, particularly children. Probably the only reason it didn't attack was because there were two of us."

Mr Hamersley, who lives in Devizes, added: "There are lots of hotels and flats in the area so other people may well have spotted this big cat on the cliff-top. I'm sure we're not alone."

PC Snellin said: "During the weekend a control room operator took a call from a woman on Canford Heath who said she could hear growling sounds coming from behind bushes. But she didn't see anything.

"It's unusual to have two sightings of big cats during the same weekend. We have had recent sightings of a European lynx cat in the Weymouth area. Police officers have even sighted them.

"About three weeks ago we had a report that a black cat had spooked horses in a field north of Wimborne. An hour later there was a similar sighting about 10 miles away. Pumas can cover great distances in a very short time.

"Despite these recent sightings I'm still unsure. I find it strange that, if big cats are roaming around, no one has hit one with a car, or that deerstalkers, who sit motionless for hours, never see any."

If you have come face to face a big cat phone our newsdesk on 01202 296502.

First published: August 24, 2005