Darren Lewis, 28, and his friend Daniel Bargewell, 26, were busy preparing a stock car for a rally in Swaffham at 11pm on Thursday when they heard loud footsteps outside the building on a farm between Stokesby and Filby.
At first Mr Lewis, who lives in Southtown, Great Yarmouth, thought a man was approaching, but when he peered out into the darkness he saw the silhouette of a beast 3-4ft tall staring back at him through green eyes while making the sinister hissing sound.
The frightened pair then barricaded themselves into the workshop while Mr Lewis phoned his sister Sarah Amis for help to remove the animal.
However, by the time Mrs Amis husband Anthony arrived on the scene half an hour later the panther had scarpered, leaving only paw prints behind.
She said: “They were worried and when my brother phoned up, he said ‘you will never believe this, but there is a panther outside the door.’ I said, ‘you are joking?’ but he said, ‘no, there really is a panther here.’”
Mrs Amis believed the giant cat was eventually scared off by the lights from her husband’s car.
There have been a number of sightings of panthers in the Great Yarmouth area in recent weeks and months.
Panther terrorises stock car enthusiasts at Filby – News – Norwich Evening News
