By Ian Valentine Friday, January 24 2003 An eight-foot howling yeti, with shining eyes and huge white teeth, has been seen prowling the woodland around Bolam Lake in Northumberland.

Experts rushed to the area, intent on proving the sightings to be an elaborate hoax, but were shocked to come face to face with the 'Bigfoot' themselves.

Jon Downes, Director of the Centre for Fortean Zoology, who travels the world to track mystical beasts, spoke to pike fishermen who had been left terrified from the sighting. He set up camp in the area for five days and was on the verge of going home, when one of his helpers heard rustling in the woods.

He told the Morpeth Herald: 'I shouted for our driver to put the headlights on and I saw something standing, much taller than me and moving along quickly indeed.'

Anna Kuhni, a clairvoyant for the Twilight World's Paranormal Society, also claims to have seen something strange, using a native American tracking technique. She described her vision as a 'huge, black manifestation', although she is not convinced it is a living creature.

'It could well be something more spiritual and I do know that there is an Iron Age fort at Bolam and that could be connected to those sightings,' she said.

However, tales of yetis and wild beasts have done nothing but boost the visitor numbers at Bolam Lake. Amateur yeti-hunters have doubled the seasonal figures as locals hope to spy the ape-like monster.

It is not the first time the region has attracted weird beasties. Local folklore tells of the Deugar, a fearsome, cave-dwelling freak, which stalked the nearby valley of Coquetdale. The yeti-like creature allegedly lured walkers to their doom before roasting their corpses over a peat fire.

ARTICLE POSTED: 02-07-03