THIS is the closest-ever picture of the Beast of Bexley.

Over several years there have been scores of sightings around the borough of a panther-like creature.

And at the weekend, mum-of-three Debbie Marshall took this amazing picture at the bottom of her garden.

Mrs Marshall, of Crombie Road, Sidcup, was making the bed when she looked out of the window and saw the beast.

At first she was confused but the more she looked the more she realised it was no ordinary moggy.

The 40-year-old grabbed a digital camera and, surrounded by her three children, waited for a photo opportunity.

Eventually the creature moved closer and crouched in tall grass, allowing the human resources officer to capture it.

She said: "I waited and eventually it made its way across the field.

"It wasn't running or galloping like a normal cat, it was more tiger-like in its movements."

Mrs Marshall, who is married to Brian, 41, says her neighbour's cat was also in the field but was around "six or seven times smaller" than the beast.

She said: "I have read about the Beast of Bexley before and sort of believed them but now I have seen it myself I am convinced it is real."

Mrs Marshall's children Bradley, 15, Hannah, 11, and Daniel, nine, wanted to stand on the garden shed to get a better view but she would not let them, choosing to stay in the bedroom, which she estimates to have been 100ft from the big cat.

She added: "I couldn't believe what I was looking at and was desperate to get a picture to show people so they would believe me. This wasn't like any ordinary cat."