January 25, 2001 11:48: THE big cat known as the Beast of Ongar has been spotted in Walthamstow near the marshes.

A dark, silky-sleek figure of a panther or puma was spotted going through bins near houses in St James Village, a block of flats near Low Hall Lane, on Saturday, at 7.30pm.

A woman was sitting in her car waiting for her son when she spotted the animal walk past her round the corner to some bins.

Big cat experts claim the animal may be living on the marshes and making food raids on local houses.

The resident, of Downsfield Road, Walthamstow, who saw the beast, said: "It came to the front of the car. It looked like a dog but with the face of a cat and it had a long tail. It was as big as a fox.

"I thought this is a huge animal. It was looking for food and rooting around. I must admit I was not really scared even though I recognised it was a puma.

"I watched it go round the corner by the dustbins in Wickham Close. I am sure of what I saw."

John Hancock of Essex Big Cat Research, a group which monitors big cat activity, says it is quite possible that the animal could be living on the marshes and making occasional forays into residential areas.

He said: "We have noticed that these big cats seem to have lost their shyness and a lot of them have been seen going through people's rubbish.

"It is not unreasonable to think that it came from Walthamstow Marshes.

"It could have been passing through the area, and these animals do have quite large territories. It was probably on the look-out for an easy meal and they can pick out the smell of meat or fish in people's litter.

"There is certainly more than one of these creatures in Essex and my opinion is that they are breeding because people are seeing young animals. There are too many sightings for it to be one cat."