The plight of Enfield's swans and ducks has provoked much discussion over the past year but one outlandish idea has emerged – a large wild puma is to blame!

An Enfield woman was walking her dog on Sunday when she spotted the enormous feline prowling the banks of the New River on Sunday morning.

She said the dark-brown beast was larger than her Labrador, with a four foot-long tail and pointed ears. She quickly made her way to her home in Tenniswood Road and called police but, when officers arrived, the creature had vanished.

Mark Fraser, of the British Big Cat Society, believes the animal's description fits that of a puma. He said: "Big cats in the wild are increasingly coming into the cities attracted by the food. I would not be surprised if wild cats made it to Enfield.

"Many exotic pets were abandoned in the 1970s when licensing laws came into being. The zoos were too full to take them so they let them loose in the wild where they colonized and they are still out there now.

"A small population of big cats could easily survive on British wildlife such as game birds, badgers and rabbits."

Mr Fraser advised steering away from the large feline if discovered, but added there have only been two attacks on the public from big cats in his 15 years as an expert.

At present, there have been numerous sightings of mysterious 'big cats' in Britain, including photographs and film, but no firm evidence.

A spokeswoman for London Zoo ruled out the possibility of the Enfield puma being an escapee. She said: "We don't have any pumas here at the moment so it certainly did not come from here," she said.

But she added: "The most frequent sighting we get is the puma – so they must be thriving out there somewhere."