A MOTORIST claims to have spotted a “very large cat sunbathing” on Bryn Pydew, a hill near Llandudno Junction.

The witness says she thinks the black and white animal may have been a house cat but added that it was “definitely huge” and thought it worthy of reporting.

The encounter took place around 5pm on Wednesday, June 29, and was shared with Puma Watch North Wales, a group set up to investigate big cat sightiings, this week.

She said: “We parked up on the lane in Pydew, Llandudno Junction and spotted a very large cat sunbathing.

“We walked to the wall to get a closer look and it got up and slowly walked away with its tail curled.

“It looked like a huge house cat to us but it was definitely huge.”

READ MORE: Big black cat' spotted TWICE on hills near Colwyn Bay

Puma Watch founder Tony Jones says there have been numerous sightings in Conwy.

He said: "A few months ago, a black big cat was spotted twice in one day in nearby Colwyn Bay. One of these sightings was on Bryn Cadno, a hill overlooking Llandudno Junction and only a short distance across the valley from the Bryn Pydew sighting.

"Last year, a holidaymaker filmed what they thought could be a young lynx crossing a lane near Bryn Pydew. And just a short distance away, some dog walkers found a carcass they believed had been left on the Little Orme.

"Also last year, just a few miles away in Conwy, a woman phoned the police after spotting a black panther on her garden fence. And way back in 2012, a member of the public phoned the police after spotting a black panther in Llandudno."

The latest sighting has been added to Puma Watch's interactive map.

Tony added: "Big cats such as pumas are solitary with a hunting range of dozens of miles. They’re mostly spotted in Snowdonia and the Clwydian hills but reports of sightings in urban locations some distance from these areas are becoming more frequent.

"As seen with Llandundo’s now-famous goats, who have taken to roaming the town’s deserted streets during the coronavirus lockdowns, it’s likely that the reduced levels of human activity during the pandemic are encouraging big cats to roam further from the hills into more populated areas."