A man has told how he came face-to-face with a huge panther-like creature while walking with his eight-year-old daughter.

Dave Knibbs and young Freyja were in a field on the South Downs near Storrington, when they startled the animal.

Mr Knibbs, 40, a classic car restorer from Breach Close, Steyning, said: "A cat just got up out of the grass and stood up, looking at me and just jumped off to the side through the hedge.

"I said to my daughter, 'Just turn around'. She could see I was terrified so she turned around and walked away. As she was walking, she almost trod on a deer hiding in the grass. The deer and the cat must have been 20ft apart.

"I couldn't believe my eyes. It took a second to register. Its body must have been 5ft without the tail or head. It had no markings on it - it was just black.

"The first thing I did was phone the police, and they said there had been five or six sightings in that particular area. I have always been sceptical about these things. But this thing was just frightening."

A Sussex Police spokesman said the force received several calls about the creature.