Black leopard and its cubs spotted on a roadside in Bristol

There has been a “huge increase” in reported big cat sightings across Britain, according to the makers of a documentary.

Matt Everett, the director of Panthera Britannia Declassified, said his team has been “inundated” following the film’s July release.

One anonymous person even claims to have spotted a black leopard and its cubs on a roadside in Bristol, he said.

The film claims to have uncovered several groundbreaking big cat sightings.

Matt said: “After the film was released on Amazon and iTunes, we have been inundated with emails and messages from people wanting to report their own sightings.”

“We have even had new videos and photos sent in, which really demonstrates the public interest in this subject.

“Last week we received a video, sent to us from Bristol. He wanted to remain anonymous for fear of ridicule by his colleagues, harming his career prospects, or even losing his job.

“But he claims that when driving over a road bridge on a very isolated and rural part of his route to work last month he saw a black leopard and two cubs cross the road in front of him, before jumping a fence at the opposite side of the bridge and disappearing into dense brush – in broad daylight.”

“According to the eyewitness, there were no other motorists nearby, so he was able to quickly stop the car.

“He then fumbled for his phone with enough time to catch a brief video of the last cub as it disappeared from view.

Tim Whittard, the show’s producer, said: “We’re pleased to have raised public awareness of this fascinating subject.

“And it does seem that we are now developing a broader and more mainstream acceptance within the public zeitgeist that there is a lot more to this than just folklore and urban legend.”