Cat lovers – and cat loathers – could be out in force this week in search of the infamous Wolds panther.

The Skegness Standard has issued a £100 reader reward for any genuine filmed or photographic evidence of the elusive feline that is published in the paper.

A recent spate of sightings around the Louth area has evidently inspired the generous gesture.

The first reported sighting was made by seven-year-old Kieran Dunnington after he noticed an unusual addition to his back garden.

The alarm was raised after Kieran had rummaged through his beany toy collection in search of a panther to show his grandma what he had just seen.

His grandmother Joan Dunnington said: “I asked him what he was doing and he said he’d seen one in the garden. He started crawling around to show me how it was moving. I told him it was probably a cat but he was convinced it wasn’t.

“Kieran doesn’t lie or make things up. He can’t have read it in the paper because this was before anything had been printed.”

Whether or not the cat actually does roam free around the countryside has always been met with an air of cynicism and sense of speculation.

An anonymous walker from Louth has stumbled across the animal’s lair complete with oversized pad prints – but when a photographer returned to the scene, no evidence could be found.

The £100 reward might just change people’s view on whether the panther is actually residing near Louth…

With sightings in close proximity there are now 100 reasons to try and prove the newly nicknamed “beast’s” existence.

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