Truth Proof Report 211 - Black cat seen by police near Filingdales

Date of sighting - nineteen nineties

Hello

Paul here....

Dear Paul,

Hope you don’t find this to much of a rambling post… May I also request anonymity, not particularly for me but for the original witness, as it really is their story. To tell it just as I heard it second hand from the witness:

Some info on me.. I am 66 yrs old and live on the Esk Valley North Yorkshire. In 1997 I retired from Cleveland Fire Brigade and was pensioned out due to an injury after 20 yrs service ( I was 40 then).

In 2001 I was employed by the Ministry of Defence Guard Service as a civilian security officer posted at RAF Fylingdales. My duties there included manning various security posts within the establishment. I would often pair up with an M.O.D. Police officer to man the various posts.

One night shift I was paired up with a long standing & experienced Police officer: I’ll call him Alan (not his real name).

As our shift progressed I can’t recall how or why the topic of conversation turned to the subject of Paranormal experiences. Alan proceeded to tell me the following story.

One night shift (I seem to recall he said early Nineties, but not sure), he had to solo patrol outside the base. Just to let you know MOD police and security patrol approximately 1.5 mile radius around the base which takes in the outskirts of Goathland and along the A169 towards Saltergate & the Hole of Horcum.

Anyway back to the story. He was driving the police vehicle on the 169. He said that as he approached the Hole of Horcum area, a large black cat ran from the right over the road and disappeared into some trees on the left. He said to me that he could clearly see it’s size and features as it was illuminated by the vehicle's full beam headlights. He admitted to being totally stunned by what he saw and said it was a definite physical creature almost leopard-like but only bigger. On returning back after his patrol he said the duty police sergeant said "Alan you look like you’ve seen a ghost".

He proceeded to tell the sergeant what he had observed. He said the sergeant did not ridicule or disbelieve him, but was convinced he had seen what he described. The sergeant then suggested they both drive to the area and have another look.

Alan told me that they pulled into a lay-by opposite the Hole of Horcum area where he had seen the cat. He and the sergeant were looking round the area when the sergeant drew his attention to a litter bin in the lay-by - it was one of those bins provided by the National Park contained within a wooden structure (I’m sure you know the type I mean Paul). On examination under torch light Alan said there were gouges along the wood that clearly resembled large claw marks similar to how a domestic cat would use a fence etc as a scratching post, only these were bigger.

Alan said he and the sergeant never filed a formal report for fear of ridicule and general P””s taking. I just thought you might find this story interesting.. I left Fylingdales in 2003. At that time Alan was approaching retirement age, in fact he may not be alive now, but I found him to be a credible honest person & M.O.D. Police Officer.

His story definitely describes these large cats as a physical phenomenon, but I wonder how such animals could be supported in what is really not a large wild area. Anyway enough of my rambling just thought it’s an interesting story.

Cheers .. John

 

Paul Sinclair: Yet another report of something black and feline in this part of the world. Thanks. No - I also fail to see how they live in the wild.