Two off-duty police officers believe they came eyeball-to-eyeball with Ulster's wandering big cat yesterday. The large sandy-coloured beast was spotted in a field by the officers on the Benvardin Road, near Ballymoney, in Co Antrim. It is the latest in a series of more than 20 sightings of a wild cat on Northern Ireland's north coast.The officers got out of their car and approached the animal. It turned and looked at them before taking off across the field.The officers followed the creature across open land but it soon disappeared. They discovered a freshly killed sheep, bearing similarities to the mutilated ram found last week believed to have been killed by a large cat. At the time of the earlier attack, police wildlife liaison officer chief inspector Mark Mason said the animal was believed to be a panther, based on the descriptions. He said it was unlikely that it posed any risk to people. "Even in the wild, these animals will normally only attack the weak and the lame,'' he said.

"This animal has been born and bred in captivity - it's used to being fed on dead animals, such as dead birds or bits of meat."It is not used to killing to live - therefore, I think it is of very low risk to us.'' However, Ian Gregg, who represents the Ulster Farmers' Union in the north Antrim area, said people are becoming increasingly worried.

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