POLICE have warned farmers and villagers to be on their guard amid reports that a tiger is on the loose.

Two people called police after seeing the animal in North Yorkshire last week.

One of the calls came from a woman in her 30s who was driving to work. She said the animal leapt over a fence and crossed the road in front of her.

The second report came from a farmer who spotted the animal on his land.

Police dispatched search teams to the area around Church Fenton, near Tadcaster. A spotter plane from RAF Linton-on-Ouse, near York, was also called in to help with the hunt, but no trace of the big cat has been found.

Officers have now warned farmers to look out for disappearing livestock.

A spokesman for North Yorkshire Police said the big cat was reported at 9.45am last Friday.

He said: "A woman telephoned to say she had seen a tiger cross the road in front of her van.

"She was shaken, she said it was a big animal and that it had stripes.

"We searched the area but found no physical sign of the animal. There was no paw prints or spoor."

He said there had been no report of a missing tiger made to the police and stressed that there is no solid evidence that the animal is a tiger.

"We do not dispute what the woman said. If we gain any more reports we will step up the search a degree," he added.

Paul Westwood, of the Big Cat Monitoring Organisation, said he has interviewed the woman involved.

He believes the animal could be an 18-month old cub.

"If it is a tiger it is probably a cub which has grown too big and been released into the wild illegally," he said.

"People get them as status symbols then release them when they get too big to control.

"A young tiger can teach itself to hunt - and will have a go at anything that moves."

Police have urged anyone who sees a dangerous animal that is not indigenous to the UK not to approach it, and to call them immediately.