A COUPLE have spoken of their shock after seeing a mysterious big black cat chase their dog near a Rossendale beauty spot.

Jason O’Brien and his partner saw the animal while walking their dog Sweep, a lurcher, at Calf Hey reservoir in Haslingden.

Jason, 42, a self-employed builder, of Field Road, Haslingden, said: “We often walk Sweep at Calf Hey in a morning, but on this occasion we went late on in the afternoon.

“Sweep was off his lead running ahead of us when we noticed a black cat like creature. It was easily two or three times the size of our dog.

“We were about 20 yards away when it started chasing Sweep. It was awful. I honestly thought it was going to kill him.”

The couple tried to follow Sweep and the beast, but lost sight of them after a few minutes. When they got back to the car, Sweep was sitting on the roof cowering.

Jason said: “It was horrible, there were muddy paw prints all over the car like something was trying to get on the car.

“It took us ages for us to coax him down. We will not be going back up there again in a hurry and I want to warn other dog walkers to be extra careful.”

Reports of the so-called “Huttock Top beast” go back years in Rossendale with sightings in Bankside Lane, Huttock Top Farm, off Newchurch Old Road and Newline, Bacup. Other big cat sightings have also been made in Rawtenstall, Osborne Terrace, Bacup, and Newchurch Road, Newchurch.