panther edp 1/9/00; ES 16 10 03; ES 31 12 03; EADT 21 07 04; ES 15 03 06

Panther terrorises stock car enthusiasts at Filby

Friday, July 1, 2011
6:23 PM

A HISSING black panther forced two terrified stock car enthusiasts to cower in their Filby workshop, fearing for their lives.

Darren Lewis, 28, and his friend Daniel Bargewell, 26, were busy preparing a stock car for a rally in Swaffham at 11pm on Thursday when they heard loud footsteps outside the building on a farm between Stokesby and Filby.

At first Mr Lewis, who lives in Southtown, Great Yarmouth, thought a man was approaching, but when he peered out into the darkness he saw the silhouette of a beast 3-4ft tall staring back at him through green eyes while making the sinister hissing sound.

The frightened pair then barricaded themselves into the workshop while Mr Lewis phoned his sister Sarah Amis for help to remove the animal.

However, by the time Mrs Amis husband Anthony arrived on the scene half an hour later the panther had scarpered, leaving only paw prints behind.

She said: “They were worried and when my brother phoned up, he said ‘you will never believe this, but there is a panther outside the door.’ I said, ‘you are joking?’ but he said, ‘no, there really is a panther here.’”

Mrs Amis believed the giant cat was eventually scared off by the lights from her husband’s car.

There have been a number of sightings of panthers in the Great Yarmouth area in recent weeks and months.

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31 comments

BEER ROASTED CAT 1 cat cut into roast 1 can of Campbell's Cream of Mushroom soup 1 cube of beef bouillon 1 clove of garlic 1 Fine Irish Stout, a lot like a popular dark Irish Beer Cover and soak cat roast in salt water for 24 hours. Drain water and then cover and soak in beer for 6 hours. Drain and place in crock pot with your cans of soup. Add a clove of garlic, and a cube of beef bouillon. If you start to slow cook your cat in the morning with your George Foreman Cooker (or it's ilk), you'll have finely cooked feline in time for supper. If a slow cooker is not available, a cat can be baked at 350 degrees for 2-3 hours in a conventional oven and still come out pretty good. Beer Roasted Cat is fantastic served with mashed potatoes, collard greens, and fresh, homemade egg rolls. When planning a full meal just remember- cat is a course best served hot!

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Paul Morley

Thursday, July 7, 2011
BEER ROASTED CAT 1 cat cut into roast 1 can of Campbell's Cream of Mushroom soup 1 cube of beef bouillon 1 clove of garlic 1 Fine Irish Stout, a lot like a popular dark Irish Beer Cover and soak cat roast in salt water for 24 hours. Drain water and then cover and soak in beer for 6 hours. Drain and place in crock pot with your cans of soup. Add a clove of garlic, and a cube of beef bouillon. If you start to slow cook your cat in the morning with your George Foreman Cooker (or it's ilk), you'll have finely cooked feline in time for supper. If a slow cooker is not available, a cat can be baked at 350 degrees for 2-3 hours in a conventional oven and still come out pretty good. Beer Roasted Cat is fantastic served with mashed potatoes, collard greens, and fresh, homemade egg rolls. When planning a full meal just remember- cat is a course best served hot!

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Paul Morley

Thursday, July 7, 2011
Panther recipes no, but coming soon I'll have some panther T-Shirts for sale

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Simon Alcock

Wednesday, July 6, 2011
I rather take offence at the sweetie, being farm born and bred and living in the countryside all my life and having had rather a lot to do with animals! Badgers are now much more common than they were many years ago when I was a child-and more common in Norfolk than they were just 15 years ago. Roadkill and the number of setts are a clear indication of how common they have become , yet I suspect most people rarely sees them. As for how much noise a big cat makes I could not say-one suspects not a lot. But it has been held (and I remember the fuss in the press at the time) that there were big cats freed from private collections when the Animals Act of 1976 obliged owners to obtain licences and to provide expensive secure caging. I would not be at all surprised if there are European Lynx living in Norfolk and am prepared to be astonished if there are pumajaguars-but I would not laugh at those who claim to have seen them.

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Daisy Roots

Wednesday, July 6, 2011
It’s time to revise those gun laws and take your personal safety seriously. Better stuffed and mounted above the fireplace than a confronting this cat with a tin of Kitty Cat whole meat chunks. Anyone have any Panther recpies?

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Paul Morley

Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Daisy Roots sweetie, you don't know much about animals do you. As John Norton pointed out re your Monday comment, Badgers aren't common. And re re Friday comment, Cats big or small, regardless of how much they weigh, do not make a sound when jumping. They are extremely agile and stealthy, which is why they are such great hunters - Be careful out there !

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Cherry B

Tuesday, July 5, 2011
I don't think so. If there are big cats out there, they've only survived by avoiding humans. A panther would not have approached Mr Lewis or Mr Bargewell, oh and I don't think panthers are 4 foot tall. And really, two grown men too afraid to come out of a shed, and they phone their sister for help?

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Cherry B

Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Hissing? Green eyes? Heavy boots? Sounds like the fearsome Hemsby Beast. I saw it once when I was walking down St. Mary's Road, hissing and stomping along with its piercing green eyes, wiping its tracks as it went with its long, bristly, broom-like tail. All those beach fishermen had better be careful at night.

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Phil Level

Monday, July 4, 2011
Those two men have just made themselves look like fame hungry,deperate idiots.

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wes1975

Monday, July 4, 2011
I think you hit the nail on the head their Daisy Roots when you wrote 'in my mind'. And another thing Badgers are not that common in Norfolk as gamekeepers have persecuted them in the past, yes they are on the increase but common they are not.

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John L Norton

Monday, July 4, 2011
Saw good clear prints a few years ago + claw marks well up a tree at a time when there were numerous sightings in the west of the county, no doubt in my mind that there are still cats about from those released when licensing and housing regulations changed. As for not seeing them- how many people have seen live badgers, which are really common?

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Daisy Roots

Monday, July 4, 2011
Personally I'd like to hear more about that retired chip pan. Now that was a REAL story...

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fester1902

Saturday, July 2, 2011
Once again incredible reports of a large cat but no evidence. When will someone take a good picture or good cast of paw prints? Until then it remains another myth

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Norwich lad

Saturday, July 2, 2011
You can support the Norfolk Panther tomorrow at the Reepham Scout Extravaganza tomorrow from 1pm, where the local Panther Brewery will have a beer tent!

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PantherBrewery

Saturday, July 2, 2011
I keeping my back door shut..I live in Filby..Arrghhh !!!...lol

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swebb

Saturday, July 2, 2011
Hopefully there will be a expert go check it out.... proof is needed, so foot prints is great.... Its been so many years that this rumour has been flying round....yet no dead bodies of the giant cat have been found????

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Wheezey

Saturday, July 2, 2011
the norfolk puma sure gets around where next i wonder ?

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psa

Saturday, July 2, 2011
Thaz a rummun

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HoooogePoooomer

Saturday, July 2, 2011
Thaz a rummun

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HoooogePoooomer

Saturday, July 2, 2011
A silhouette in darkness AND with green eyes! Amazing. Miaow............

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Thoreauwasright

Saturday, July 2, 2011
Easy to mock, but why invent a story that is bound to invite ridicule?

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Entropy

Saturday, July 2, 2011
Let's not bother, eh?

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algw

Saturday, July 2, 2011
I nearly cried with laughter when I read this. Panther with hobnailed boots... Love it, Archant, please keep up the weekly Pooma reports.

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GJ

Friday, July 1, 2011
Hi all, I live in dussindale,thorpe st andrews,norwich, about 2 weeks ago on the way towards the heartsease est down plumstead rd and i was saying to my lady as it was getting dark look out for foxes and deers ive seen loads recently and as wen got close to the scout hut a large black cat leaped across the rd in a flash and we didnt believe our eyes and only last wed i was on my way home at about 930pm and as i was about to turn into dussindale drive the same size black cat ran out across the road and jumped in to the woods it was alot closer this time and really made me jump and steer my car in to the curb i told all my friends this last few weeks and they said i was nuts but after reading this im more convinced in what i saw BUT the fact one of these lads called his sister and locked them selves in a barm is a bloody joke lmao Jack

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JackTheHat

Friday, July 1, 2011
Since Thrigby Wildlife park , which has tigers as well as other big cats, is on the doorstep of Filby and Stokesby, you can hardly blame these chaps for being worried in case one had escaped or was the famous North Norfolk puma attracted to the area by the captive cats. 11pm would have been dark and big cats are heavy-if it had jumped it could have have made a noise on landing. Pity no one took casts of the prints to sort out if it was badger or deer.

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Daisy Roots

Friday, July 1, 2011
wot a load of ****** cats dont make loud foof prints he phoned his sister ?

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Keith Styles

Friday, July 1, 2011
What are the odds of finding two 20 something men who DON'T own a camera phone & therefore can't record this terrifying experience for posterity...I think THATS the story rather than this nonsense about a hissing panther....

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Ziggy

Friday, July 1, 2011
I do beleive some sightings have validity; but a cat, even a big one, walking with footsteps like a man? At that point it lost credibility.

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Paul Radbourne

Friday, July 1, 2011
They heard loud footsteps outside the building on a farm between Stokesby and Filby. What was the Panther wearing? Hob nail boots?

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John L Norton

Friday, July 1, 2011
I did see a black jaguar going along the A149, it turned off at the traffic lights though... it had wheels so no paw prints.

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Dave01

Friday, July 1, 2011
Oh well, paw prints are a definite improvement on previous sightings. Let's see what the experts say!

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samphirelover

Friday, July 1, 2011