FUR is flying as experts try to explain a sighting of the Beast of Bexley.

Last week News Shopper reported a big cat had been seen near Churchfield Woods, Bexley Village.

Dog walker John Costin described the animal as measuring a foot-and-a-half in length and looking like "a small lynx or bobcat with pointy ears".

Danny Bamping, of the Big Cats Society, has confirmed the animal had similar characteristics to those of a lynx or a bobcat but argues it was too small to be a lynx, which he said typically measures about 4ft in length.

Chris Moiser, a scientific adviser for Big Cats in Britain, says the animal is likely to be a rare breed of domestic cat.

Mr Moiser said: "These include varieties which have been created by cross-breeding domestic cats with wild species.

"It is very rare to find a lynx 4ft long. Most will only be one or two inches over 3ft."

For more on this issue, turn to page 29.