Big cat link to kill on Chase

A deer kill has prompted fears of a big cat on the prowl on Cannock Chase.

Steve Allatt was walking his dog there at the weekend when he saw a fawn in distress.

The 54-year-old retired miner approached it to see what was wrong and discovered another fawn lying dead with two puncture holes in its neck.

Mr Allatt, of Kent Road, Heath Hayes, said: "I was on the part of the Chase that used to be the Heath Hayes open-cast mine.

"The fawn was running up and down the hedge. I could tell something was wrong.

"I approached it on the solid path as I know the red deer well and have seen the two fawns with their mother quite a few times.

"As I got closer I could see the other fawn, which was the same size, was dead.

"It was too far from the road to be a road kill. I then noticed the two holes in its neck and could see it had been dragged down the bank into a ditch."

Mr Allatt said he was worried that the mother was nowhere to be seen.

He said: "A cat would not have eaten the fawn if it was chasing another kill."