HAMPSHIRE is at the centre of a new black panther alert. A mother-of-two came face-to-face with one near Winchester this week, it emerged today.

A schoolteacher has also told how she came eyeball-to-eyeball with the mystery creature that has sparked a big game hunt at West End, Southampton - and she has sketched what it looks like.

Housewife Tracy Reilly, 40, is convinced she saw a black panther as she drove along a country road near her home town of Alresford. She spied the big cat by Avington Park, Itchen Abbas, at about 7.30pm on Wednesday.

Mrs Reilly said: "It was definitely a black panther. I went over the humpback bridge and was driving very slowly - it was in the middle of the road.

"It just sauntered along. There was no mistaking what it was. It stopped and looked at me. The thing I noticed was the sheen in its coat - the light was reflecting off it. Its gait was a rolling saunter, very cat-like.

"I drove to a friend and he called the police for me. You don't expect that sort of thing in Avington."

Pictured above is the graphic interpretation of the big cat with the piercing eyes that left a lasting impression and sent a shudder down the spine of a 24-year-old New Zealander.

Teacher Kelly Heard's dramatic start to the school day came as the Year 4 teacher walked through the gates at St James Primary School at about 7.40am.

She said: "There was no one else around. I just happened to turn around because something caught my eye.

"I saw something quite big and black. It was more like a big cat than a dog and was just sitting in front of a hedge by the car park.

Kelly, who was about 30 metres away, said: "It was completely black with legs out in front of it and there was a white plastic bag and rubbish nearby. It had big piercing green-yellowish eyes which just stared at me. It gave me a bit of a fright.

"The previous day someone had contacted the school to say they had seen a panther in the field and I thought this might be the same one."

Meanwhile, the British Big Cat Society has its sights set on West End as the hunt continues for the black panther-like creature. After reading yesterday's Daily Echo story, John Gledson, who lives in Gosport and is a member of the society, says he wants to investigate the sightings at West End. He said: "We take all reported sightings seriously and investigate as much as we can."

He plans to visit West End early next week and hopes to interview school staff and take photographs of the area.