A WHITBY taxi driver claims to have spotted the mysterious Beast of the Bay as he was coming back from Manchester Airport in the early hours of last Tuesday morning.
It is the latest in a long line of sightings of a panther-like creature stalking North Yorkshire.
Wayne Whisson (43) was accompanying a friend on a pick-up from the airport when he spotted the beast .
He said: “We were about two miles outside P
ickering heading towards Whitby on the A169 when we went round a roundabout.
“It was coming out the woods and the light caught its eyes making them light up.
“It was big – I have a golden labrador and it was easily bigger than that.
“It just moved in front of me, it made the hairs stand up on the back of my neck.
“I’ve been driving a taxi for 12 years and I have never seen anything like it.
“I’ve seen all sorts, badgers, foxes, dogs but never a panther.”
Linda Taylor, who lives in Boulby Bank was in the car and confirmed she too had seen the big cat.
She and a friend had been picked up by the taxi at the airport when she saw the creature.
“I was sat in the middle of the car talking to Wayne and the driver Jimmy when we went round the corner and there was just these great big eyes staring back at us,” she said.
“I looked at the clock and it was exactly 12.35pm.
“You couldn’t mistake it for anything else, I remember saying ‘good God look at that,’ it was standing like it was about to cross the road and didn’t move as we came round the corner.
“It looked like a very big cat, there was nothing else it could have been. Three of us seen it.
“I didn’t want to say anything but when the others said they had seen it too I was relieved.”
l Have you seen the mysterious panther that is stalking North Yorkshire?
If so call our news team on (01947) 829911 or email: editorial@whitbygazette.co.uk
The full article contains 367 words and appears in Whitby Gazette Tuesday newspaper.
