The mystery of big cats roaming the countryside has once again been thrown under the spotlight.

According to Neil Arnold of Kent Big Cat Research a black leopard known as the Beast of Blue Bell Hill is back on the prowl.

The latest sighting took place, at 9.40am on Saturday, February 23, at Rochester Cemetery on the Maidstone Road, by a man walking home.

Mr Arnold, said: "He glanced up into the cemetery and was astonished to see the animal. The cat was moving between the headstones.

"It was black in colour with a very long tail which touched the ground."

The wild cat enthusiast admits it may be a surprise to many that normally shy creatures head so close to town, but says it is one of many sightings from the area, including back gardens near Rochester Castle and the Alexandra Hospital, Walderslade.

It comes less than a fortnight after the sighting of another fierce feline in Snodland.

A fisherman allegedly saw a strange "cat-like" animal while he was sitting beside a lake earlier this month.

Mooching

Mr Arnold says the angler, saw a dark grey animal which was the size of a fox, with a long thick tail, on the other side of the lake.

He said the animal was "mooching" around on the river bank, walking from left to right, then right to left before disappearing into the trees.

According to Mr Arnold this is the second sighting of what he says could be a Jaguarundi in the area. A similar creature was seen near the lake last month.

He said the species is native to South America and resembles a member of the Mustelid family, which includes badgers, wolverines, and otters.

Mr Arnold said this type of big cat is far less common than others spotted around the county which are thought to be black leopards, pumas and lynx.

"This is an unusual type of sighting, we don't get a great deal like this," said Mr Arnold.

"Because they look like foxes a lot of people do not bother to report them.

"Fishermen have said they know there is a black leopard in Snodland, but this is something different."

He says the animal might have escaped from a private collection and would eat birds, rabbits and rodents.

He added: "There are possibly one or two of this kind in the area.

"They were occasionally kept as pets back in the Sixties."