A claws encounter of the furred kind

by Lorna Campbell

A GREENOCK man claims he has seen Inverclyde’s infamous big cat.

Dougie Henry was driving to Largs on Sunday morning when he says the Beast of Inverclyde ran out in front of his car.

The 63-year-old says he is ‘honoured’ to have seen the legendary animal with his own eyes.

He said: “I spotted it when I was driving to Largs on Sunday at around 9.30am. We were just before the cut-off to the shops in Wemyss Bay, at the slip road for the power station, and this big cat ran out and across the road.

“We must have been about 100 yards away from it. It was about two or three feet long and bounded across the road. It was jet black. It didn’t run like a normal domestic cat would, and it didn’t run like a dog. It bounded like the big cats you see on the television.”

Dougie is well-known across Inverclyde for his work with the Greenock Players.

He says he is usually a sceptic but is now convinced the Beast of Inverclyde, regularly spotted around Kilmacolm, exists. He said: “I am so glad my wife Irene was there and that she saw it as well. It was far too big to be a domestic cat.

“It ran from the left of the road and disappeared down to the right. I couldn’t believe I had seen it and Irene was just as amazed as I was.

“I think it could be the one that has been spotted in the Kilmacolm area because they can travel for miles in search of food.

“I have got a questioning mind but I am convinced now and I feel honoured to have seen it.”

Over the past few years, there have been numerous sightings of a puma-like animal around Inverclyde and people in Kilmacolm have even set up their own Big Cat Sighting Network to log all reports of the beasts.