Hunt for a 'lion on the loose in Essex': 30 police officers, crack marksmen and two helicopters join search

Armed police were last night hunting for a lion believed to be on the loose in Essex. Residents were told to stay indoors after the beast was spotted in fields near Clacton.
Two force helicopters and around 30 police officers were scrambled after locals reported the sighting. One witness described onlookers screaming as they came face to face with the predator.
Others sitting in nearby homes told how they heard it roar as it prowled the area. Rich Baker, 39, was walking with his two boys, aged nine and 11 when the drama unfolded.

Police hunt: Armed police are hunting a lion which was spotted in fields near a caravan site in St Osyth, Essex (pictured)

He said: 'A man started running towards us yelling "It’s a ******* lion!" He looked so panicked you knew it was not a joke. The lion you could see it from the side.’
The van driver, from Romford, Essex, continued: 'I grabbed my children’s hands and we ran towards our caravan. My children started to scream, “daddy, is the lion going to get us?”

 

'It was one million per cent a lion. It was a tan colour with a big mane, it was fully grown, it was definitely a lion. It was just standing there, it seemed to be enjoying itself.
'There were a dozen or so people who saw it. We are staying on the caravan park down the road. It’s very busy – it’s a seaside resort and a bank holiday.’

On the loose: The lion was spotted in the village of St Osyth, near Clacton, Essex

Essex police said they believed the reports to be genuine after a group of people who had been walking close to fields in the village of St Osyth at around 7pm took a photograph of the animal.
Officers were last night working with experts from Colchester Zoo to track down the animal.
They will try to tranquilise the creature if it is found. The animal is not thought to have come from the zoo as all their animals have been accounted for.
Another witness, Rob Hull, who works as a barman at the nearby Tudor Bar social club, had already heard about the lion when he saw it ambling through the field.
He said: 'I was in my car as I had just gone to get some petrol when I saw it in the field next to the road. It was ambling laconically along by the lake in the field, like it didn’t have a care in the world.
'I had already heard about it. It was already all over Facebook and Twitter.’
It is believed the animal could have escaped from a circus that had been performing nearby. The Great British Circus had been running at Clacton Airfield, less than two miles away, until August 8.
The circus website includes video footage of lions performing as part of its show.
Last night there were conflicting reports over whether the circus had been touring with lions or not.
An Essex police spokeswoman said the force had not ruled out the possibility that the lion was from the circus. She said: 'We’ve haven't ruled out the circus. But there have not been any lions reported missing.'
Owner Martin Lacey announced last week he was cutting down on wild animals that were to be banned from circuses.
'I am 70 this year so have decided to finish now,’ he told Horse and Hound magazine.

He was seeking new owners for performing horses and a zebra that had been dropped from the circus. He had reportedly also sold a tiger to Italy.
Last night he could not be contacted for comment.

Lion sightings: The big cat cat was spotted in fields near Clacton-on-Sea (file photo)

Che Kevlin, 40, who lives nearby the scene of the drama, described hearing the lion roar.
He said: 'I was sitting with my wife in the front room playing backgammon at around 10pm when I heard this very loud roar.
'I asked my wife if she’d heard something, it was so odd. I went upstairs to check on my 11-year-old son, but he was fast asleep.
'It was incredibly odd to hear something like that at that time of night.
'We had been for a walk earlier in the day and heard a police helicopter but didn’t realise they were looking for a lion.
'We were trying to work out what the roar was. It was not until my brother texted me 20 minutes later and said there’s a lion on the loose in your area that we realised what exactly it was.
'My guess is that it was in the fields or woods behind our house.
'It was very, very loud. I’ve only heard what a lion sounds like on TV wildlife programmes, but it was definitely that.’
A police spokesman said: 'The large cat, believed to be a lion, was seen in fields off Earls Hall Drive in St Oysth, near Clacton, just before 7pm on Sunday.
Police are trying to establish where the lion may have come from. Anyone who sees the lion is advised to call 999.