Lion ‘On The Loose’ In Essex: Police Warning | Extreme

Officers from Essex Police have been working with experts from Colchester Zoo who believe the reports to be genuine after being shown a photograph from a member of the public. However, police said the big cat had not escaped from the zoo, as all its animals had been accounted for. There have been rumours that it may have escaped from a circus that had been performing in the Essex area, but they are yet to be substantiated.

Bernadette Cleere, whose aunt runs the King’s Arms pub in St Oysth, told Sky News that when she first heard about the possibility that a lion was on the loose she thought it was “a hoax”. But after speaking to people who live in the area where the sighting took place, she is now taking it seriously. She said: “We do know the people on the farm where it was reported. They have been told to be very cautious, stay in and keep their doors locked. “They have helicopters and armed police around their house so I think they are quite scared.” She added: “There was a circus in Clacton about a week ago so some people are saying it has come from there, some are saying it has come from a zoo, but no one knows. It’s not the thing you expect to hear – that there’s a lion prowling around.”