Expert steps up Beast of Roslin hunt

INVESTIGATIONS into alleged sightings of the Beast of Roslin are continuing after an expert claimed to find evidence that the creature is real.

Scottish Big Cat Society researcher Sandy Smith plans to return to Roslin after photographs he took during an earlier visit appeared to confirm that the animal which residents have reported seeing is a puma or similar big black cat.

Mr Smith took the pictures during a "reconstruction" of one of the sightings, where he placed a lifesized cut-out of a big cat at the spot where bus driver Alistair Ross thought he saw the creature.

Mr Smith then took a photograph of the cutout from the same place where Mr Ross snapped the "Beast" last month in order to compare the scale.

The size of the animal in both pictures was very similar, suggesting Mr Ross saw a big cat.

Mr Smith now plans to mount an all-night watch in countryside near Roslin in the hope of seeing the beast in the flesh.

Mr Ross, 54, who works as a bus driver, estimated the animal's body was about 3ft long with a tail measuring about 1½ft when he snapped the creature last month.