Bloke ‘attacked’ by large cat at BBQ in Derby says he ‘nonetheless has nightmares’

A bloke has opened up about his terrifying encounter with a suspected big cat that haunts him after he was ‘attacked’ at a barbecue.

John Broomhead, from Aintree, Merseyside, is a frequent visitor to Tansley, Derbyshire, for caravanning trips with his partner, but nothing could have prepared him for the events of one fateful summer evening in July 2022.

The 68-year-old was enjoying a barbeque on the warm summer night when, as he was putting out the dying embers of the grill, he was attacked by what he describes as a “big cat”.

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Now, he’s sharing his harrowing experience in hopes of alerting others in the area.

He recounted in a chat with Derbyshire Live: “It was just a normal day. We’d been having a nice evening with friends but at around 11pm, we decided to call it a night and I went to put out the fire.

“I heard a rustling noise but, obviously thought nothing of it. In the corner of my eye, I could see a black shadow moving; at first, I thought it could have been a dog or a cat – but it was huge.”

Explaining the animal’s size, he added: “I’d say it was three or four times the size of a regular cat, maybe a similar size to a Doberman dog. Its eyes were bright yellow and it had a long tail – I couldn’t believe what I was seeing, some sort of cougar or leopard.

“Before I knew it, the eyes were coming towards me. In what felt like an instant, the cat had moved from 40 yards away to about half that distance.”

He said he “threw” himself into his caravan to safety.

John lamented that people find it hard to believe his story, but he did find another holidaymaker who saw something similar.

He added: “My partner couldn’t believe what I was saying. ‘A big cat?’ she said. She wouldn’t have believed me if not for the fear in my eyes.

“She’d never seen me react to anything in such a way, I feared for my life in the split second that thing was charging at me. If I didn’t get away, I’m certain it could have killed me.

“No one would believe me until I met another man in the caravan park and we spoke about what I saw. He described the exact same animal to me, and it was just down the road.

“Another person said they saw a mangled carcass on a bike track nearby, no cat, dog or fox in this country could’ve done that much damage. It’s terrifying to think that someone could be attacked anytime in the area, I still have nightmares to this day – whether I’m in Liverpool or Tansley, my guard is always up.”

Terrified by his near miss, John admits he’s suffered trauma and now refuses to go to the lavatory or shower alone at the caravan site, fearing another attack.

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