A West Devon beauty spot was the setting for a big cat sighting last week.

Helen Harris was walking her labrador, Hamish, with her ten-month-old daughter Jocelyn, in woodland near Grenofen Bridge last Thursday morning when she saw the animal cross her path.

Husband Paul said: 'She was walking up the hill with the dog and the baby in a sling and this thing crossed about ten metres in front of her.

'It didn't seem to be concerned about her presence. It was larger than a labrador, and longer, dark brown in colour, with a long tail.'

Paul, who lives with Helen at Milton Abbot, said his wife was 'a bit shocked' to see the animal, but that the sighting happened very quickly.

'Hamish was behind Helen at the time but when he got up to where the scent trail was, he whoofed and had his hackles up — then proceeded to follow the trail in the other direction.'

Paul said he and his wife regularly walk on the moor in the Grenofen area but had never seen anything like this before.

'Helen is a midwife, she's got her head screwed on — it wasn't a dog,' said Paul, adding that his wife did not attempt to see where the animal had gone.

'With a ten-month-old baby, I don't think she fancied a big cat hunt.'

Sightings of big cats have been reported in West Devon — they have been spotted in the Chillaton area and there were two sightings of an animal believed to be a black leopard or lynx in the Okehampton area three years ago.

The last sightings of unusual wildlife in this particular area of West Devon were wild boar, again, more than two years ago.

Chris Moiser, zoo manager and author of several books, including Mystery Cats in Devon and Cornwall and Big Cats — Mysteries of Somerset, said from the description of the animal seen by Mrs Harris, the animal sounded like a puma.

Chris said: 'I think it's very possible it was a puma. They are very elusive cats, very secretive. They would quite happily quietly watch people walk past within ten or 15 metres of them and you just wouldn't notice them.

'They are the sort of cats that could cover a range of around 20 square miles in a night. They are opportunistic hunters and will basically eat anything they can kill — occasionally deer, the odd sheep, rabbits, hares, game birds, but they avoid conflict with humans.'

Chris said the area around Grenofen would be ideal for a puma — but stressed that sightings were very rare and that this particular animal could now be ranging many miles away.

He said it was most likely that if the mystery animal was a puma, it was an escapee from a private collection.

A spokesman for Natural England said he could not confirm whether there had been any other sightings in that area but he did urge people to get in touch: 'We do want to receive reports of this nature as it helps our wildlife licensing plot sightings and build up anecdotal evidence of alien species.

'There have been many sightings in the South West over many years but no species confirmed. However, if you suspect that you have seen a big cat it is probably prudent to keep yourself and any dogs clear of it.'