Big cats are stalking the country lanes of rural Britain, but their existence is being covered up by Ministry of Defence, a new book claims.
Rick Minter, author of Big Cats: Facing Britain's Wild Predators, claims that the body of a large black cat was carried into an RAF Base in North Yorkshire, and the corpse is now being kept in a MOD vault.
"It is at RAF Fylingdales that we have Britain's Roswell moment on big cats," claims Minter in his book, referring to the reported alien crash landing in New Mexico, which conspiracy theorists believe was covered up by the US air force.
"Retired staff apparently talked about a 'body on the table' and a witness outside the base reported a puma-like creature being trundled off in the scoop-arm of a tractor."
Big cat sightings in the UK are common according to Mark Fraser who runs the website Big Cats In Britain.
However no corpse of a puma or leopard has ever been found.
North Yorkshire seems to have the dubious distinction of being a hotbed of puma and pather sightings. A spokesperson for the North Yorkshire police told the Huffington Post UK:
"There's been various sightings over the years. Every summertime, we get a good spate of sightings right across the county, in both forest areas and close to the coast. There's never been any proof though."
Sheep and deer carcasses are hailed by farmers as evidence of a panther, puma or black leopard roaming the countryside.
A savaged sheep found sprawled across a North Yorkshire road in December 2010 was widely attributed to a big cat. At the time, PC John Wilbor told local newspaper "The Press":
“The evidence seems to fit with a possible big cat attack.”
Mark Fraser of Big Cats In Britain told the Huffington Post UK: "We get reports of big cat sightings almost every day. I don't believe there are hundreds out there though.
"He [Minter] quotes reports of a large black leopard in RAF Fylingdales. One investigator talked to a guard at the gate who saw the leopard come in. I don't believe for a second it's being kept in a vault though. The government will never admit it."
The Ministry of Defence declined to comment.