Ann and David Curtis, of Foston-on-the-Wolds, have told the Driffield Times how they were awoken in the early hours of last Tuesday morning to the sounds of a cat screeching, only to discover that the sound was coming from something a little more sinister.

Mrs Curtis said: "We were woken in the night, at about 2am, by the most terrible screeching and cat calling.

"We thought it was a cat or fox which is something we would expect out here but it was so loud I got up.

"The security lights had been set off and there in our driveway was no ordinary domestic black cat. At first I just couldn't believe what it was.

"It was as big as a fox but in the glare of the light we could see it very clearly and it wasn't a fox at all. It was sandy coloured with a big long tail like a cat's tail but this was striped," Mrs Curtis added.

After recovering from her initial shock Mrs Curtis ran downstairs from the safety of her upstairs bedroom to find a torch to shed more light on the bizarre scene.

Mrs Curtis said: "We could see it had fangs when it screeched at us. It had short hairs and a cat face but it was much bigger than a feral cat. We shouted and screamed and in the end it finally cleared off."

According to Mr and Mrs Curtis there have been at least three reported sightings in the area over the last three weeks.

Mrs Curtis added: "I was talking to someone on the farm and said I thought I saw a linx expecting them to say you were just dreaming but apparently he had gone into the village pub one night and a woman was there saying she had just seen a linx.

"Since then a friend of ours said that a friend of his was fishing on the beck near Wansford when he was suddenly aware that something was watching him. He looked up and saw something that he described as like a puma or something as big as that."

Mrs Curtis firmly believes that this sighting could explain why wildlife, including ducks, has been disappearing from the couple's garden in recent weeks.