Dad and son escape ‘big cat’ as it bolts at boy in scary bike ride encounter

A dad was left petrified after he saw a " big cat " bolt towards his son in the woods before finding out the area was a "hotbed" for the beasts.

Harry Abonyi, 11, was enjoying a bike ride when the mystery monster targeted him in front of his father Martin in Black Carr Plantation, Old Cantley, Doncaster.

Martin said his son was riding 30 yards in front of him when he noticed the huge creature lurking in the popular dog-walking spot at around 7.30pm on Wednesday (May 18).

He initially thought it was a "large black dog " but soon realised its behaviour was largely different to how a canine would act, reports Yorkshire Post.

Speaking about the terrifying encounter, the dad said: "As we rounded a corner I saw out of the corner of my eye a large black animal sprinting out from the cover of the woods heading directly for my son, running diagonally to head him off.

"I was a bit concerned at the animals intentions at this stage, but when I looked back to see if it was close to my son, the animal had disappeared."

He added: "As I collected my thoughts, a few things struck me. Firstly, on reflection it looked like a very large cat and not a dog, there were no owners or other people in sight or earshot.

"The animal also had to traverse a short section of bracken and undergrowth to get to my son, so the only conclusion I could draw was that it saw me coming, aborted its attack and was laying up in the bracken."

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The sighting comes after a string of reports from residents who claim they have previously seen a "panther" and a "huge 5ft black cat" in the area.

Harry was unaware that the creature had set its sights on him, so Martin decided to investigate in the undergrowth while Harry stopped for a drink.

"Admittedly I didn’t want to get too close as a cornered cat would likely attack," the father explained.

"So I encouraged my son to get back on his bike and ride away from the scene. I only told him later when we were out of the woods so not to cause alarm, but he was quite shook up when I told him.

"Obviously my son had no idea so he wasn’t scared at the time, but I was quite alarmed.

"When I got in I did a quick search in Google and was really surprised to find out that this area is actually a hotbed for big black cat sightings, with one being spotted less than a mile away from our sighting last year.”

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