For many years reports have come in following sightings of big cats in the Oxfordshire countryside.

Many people are convinced there is a Puma-like creature prowling among our fields and hedgerows, while others dismiss the notion as nonsense.

However, a police officer is convinced he now has the evidence to prove beyond all doubt that big cats – such as the oft-sighted ‘Beast of Burford’ really are among us.

Thames Valley Police wildlife officer Pc Simon Towers has a cast of a big cat print, most likely a Puma, that he found in a West Oxfordshire woodland. He said: “We get regular sightings, perhaps once a month.

“We have been aware of this for several years and it really is not a problem, it is just one of those things because we live in a rural area. Oxfordshire is a meeting point of several territories, and that is the reason why perhaps we get more sightings than other places.”

He added: “We are not just getting reports from members of the public, but also from game keepers. They are coming from professionals.”

He said the cast had been independently verified by a big cat expert. However, he did not want to reveal where the print had been found, fearing curious trespassers may try to trace the animal.

It has also excited west Oxfordshire’s top policeman, Chief inspector Colin Paine, a user of social networking site Twitter. He commented: “Apparently there really is a big cat in west Oxfordshire! Our wildlife officer assures me the rumours are true.”

Pc Towers said: “I am convinced there is a cat because I have seen the back end of it outside Chipping Norton about 10 years ago.”

And he said residents should not be concerned if they did spot a big cat. He said: “There have been no reported attacks on a human in the UK. The likelihood of them attacking someone is almost negligible.

“They are more scared of us and there is no need for them to be aggressive because there is plenty of food.

“There is more than enough wildlife for them to eat.”

But he added: “It is not unusual to have the mickey taken out of you by unbelievers.

“Unless you come up with a carcass, which is very, very unlikely, people will not believe.”

He said the animal may be offspring of animals “dumped in the wild” by their owners after Government legislation prevented private ownership of big cats in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

British Big Cats Society founder Danny Bamping said: “They prefer heavily wooded, rural, undisturbed places, but those are now few and far between, which is why we are getting more and more sightings.”

Rebecca Lowe, from Abingdon, saw a big cat crossing the A34, near Lodge Hill, last year .

She said: “It was massive and I could tell it was a cat from the way it was walking.

“I was going to go back and check, but thought better of it.”

tom.jennings@oxfordmail.co.uk l Have you seen a big cat in the countryside? Call Tom Jennings on 01865 425403