A WINCHESTER woman is recovering from the shock of seeing an large unidentified animal near her home.

Marion Robinson was driving along Sarum Road last Saturday when she spotted a large animal in the middle of the road.

She said: “I saw it in full beam. It was walking along the road; it was very white-haired with big feet. It is hard to say what it was. It wasn’t a dog.”

Mrs Robinson, secretary, 53, of Ham Green, Sparsholt, added: “It was very peculiar and it freaked me out. I have never seen anything like it. It was a big-cat size, bigger than a dog, the size of a small pony.

“I watched it for five minutes as it walked down the road, a good few hundred yards. I just wish I had taken photographs. I’m kicking myself.

“It was swankering down the road. He wasn’t going to get a move on.”

The latest sighting comes only weeks after a spate of incidents involving a large cat-like animal in Valley Park, Chandler’s Ford.

Experts at Marwell Wildlife near Colden Common are sceptical of the likelihood of big cats in Hampshire, even though there have been numerous sightings over the years. The zoo argues big cats need big meals and would need to hunt animals like cows and horses which would rapidly lead to its exposure.