A father from Shifnal has sparked fresh intrigue around the legend of a 'British Bigfoot' after reporting a startling encounter in the misty woods of Cannock Chase on New Year's Day.
The Startling New Year's Day Encounter
The 60-year-old dad-of-three and grandfather was walking with his partner near the historic Castle Ring Hill Fort when the incident occurred. He describes the day as "drizzly and misty" when something unusual caught his eye.
"I turned suddenly and thought, 'what the hell was that?', as a large figure appeared from nowhere," he recounted. The avid cyclist observed a broad, upright figure he estimates stood between 7 to 10 feet tall, moving swiftly along a lower ditch.
He noted the figure had "light and dark flowing fur" and was travelling at a remarkable pace, which he gauged to be roughly 15 miles per hour. Intriguingly, the encounter was silent, and neither his partner, who was 20 yards ahead, nor their dog reacted to the presence.
A History of Mysterious Sightings in the Chase
Initially doubting his own eyes and considering a "trick of the light," the man's online research revealed his experience was not isolated. Reports and folklore of a yeti-like beast in Cannock Chase stretch back to the 1800s.
More recently, in 2021, prominent Bigfoot investigator Lee Brickley claimed to have discovered enormous 41-centimetre claw marks in the forest's trees. He stated at the time that this evidence, nearly double the size of a man's size eight footprint, convinced him the Cannock Chase creature was "more than just a myth."
"I was astounded," Brickley told the Daily Star four years ago. "I’d never seen a footprint that large in my life, and it was clearly not made using a mould or cast."
From Doubt to Belief in the British Sasquatch
The latest witness admitted he kept the experience to himself for several days, unsure of what he had truly seen. However, after discovering the area's long history of strange reports, his perspective shifted.
"I didn't tell a soul for a few days as I wasn't completely sure about what I'd seen," he said. "But even though Ghostbusters was on repeat every day over Christmas, and the new Stranger Things had just dropped too, I now think I know what I saw."
He emphasised that the moment, while shocking, did not feel threatening. "This happened a few yards next to me, but didn't feel scary, just strangely calm," he described.
BirminghamLive attempted to contact Lee Brickley for comment on this latest account but had not received a response at the time of publication. The sighting adds another chapter to the enduring mystery of what, if anything, roams the ancient woodland of this popular Staffordshire beauty spot.
