A mum-of-three has captured incredible footage of a big cat lurking in farmland near to homes over fears a PANTHER could be on loose in the British countryside.

Michelle Lee, 36, spotted the huge beast prowling near to her house and believes it could be the "Black Panther of Rutland" she heard rumours of as a child.

She had been looking for bats from her bedroom window with her son Bobby, 12, when she noticed the 5ft (1.5m) creature on Tuesday evening (10/8).

Michelle quickly took out her mobile phone and started to record footage of the big cat skulking through the undergrowth in in a farmers field in Empingham, Rutland.

Michelle, a mobile hairdresser, said: "I zoomed in on my phone to see what it was - and it was this absolutely huge cat. I couldn't believe what I was seeing.

"Because of the distance from my house, if it was a normal size cat or a dog, I wouldn't have spotted it, but it was so large.

“I’ve never seen anything like it before, When I was growing up I remember hearing rumours of the Black Panther of Rutland from when I was aged about eight.

"But I never dreamed in a million years I might see it from my own bedroom window.

"Rutland Water, the reservoir is five minutes down the road, that is a big nature area - whether it came from there, I don't know.

"There always been stories about people having panthers as pets and just letting them go when they got too big - there's so many different stories that go around.

"The Black Panther of Rutland is a bit of a local legend and there was have been numerous sightings over the years.

"The way the big cat was walking around was totally different to a dog, dog's are scatty and run around but this big cat was just slowly prowling around.

"There are dog walkers in the area, but this creature was spotted in a private gated farmer's field so it's most likely a wild animal.

"I’m convinced it’s not a domestic cat either because of its size, the way it moved and the way its long tail was curved downwards.

"Obviously there have been some sceptics on social media but once I shared an image of the distance the footage was recorded from and how far I had to zoom in, I think some changed their minds."

Michelle said her wildlife-mad son Bobby had been left excited by the rare big cat sighting near their rural home, which is surrounded by fields and woods.

She added: "My son has been doing a lot of research, he's told me they can walk for 20 miles a day and we might not ever see it again.

"He loves David Attenborough and nature shows so he's been loving every minute of it, although I'm not sure I want a panther lurking around by my house.

"We've now added big cat watching to our summers evenings bat watch."

There have been numerous sightings of big cats in Rutland and nearby Northampton and Lincolnshire over the years.

In 2019, Kayleigh Holmes, 31, was walking her Labrador-cross Loki in woods near woods in Collyweston when her pet was attacked by a suspected panther.

The year before, Steve Kelly, of Stamford, snapped a picture of a large black cat as well as massive paw print in nearby woods.

And in 2016 a pair of cyclists believed they spotted the elusive Rutland panther while out for an evening ride.

Even going back to 1998, two large paw prints were reported near Gainsborough on a farm, which were identifiable as puma or lynx prints by an RSPCA inspector.