It sounds pretty bad, coming on top of the Thamesteel crisis, but all is not lost for Sheppey and wind jobs despite the depressing withdrawal by Vestas.

Peel Ports, the owner of the proposed factory site at Sheerness - not Vestas - has the planning consent from Swale council. Although the Government might have called in the original proposal for a blade-making factory because of a listed building on the site, a refusal would have been unlikely in the face of such massive job creation - up to 2,000 - in a favoured sector.

The stage is now set for other firms to be encouraged by Peel, Locate in Kent,  Kent County Council, Swale council and MPs to consider investing in a manufacturing or assembly plant, or a mixture of both.

It is possible that a similar number of jobs could be created but don’t hold your breath. It could be a lot fewer than the Vestas plan.

While Vestas blamed market uncertainty which had stalled orders for the decision, there is probably more to it than that. The Government was about to unveil a new Energy strategy which might have addressed some concerns.

But the winds of financial, technical and structural difficulty blowing across one of Denmark’s biggest firms,  played a part. The manufacture of a prototype for the massive V164 blade that would have been built at Sheerness had been delayed. The firm had issued a profits warning, its share price had plummeted and bosses had been replaced. It was not a happy context for a big investment decision.

While middle managers proclaimed their support for the Sheerness project, and the company had invested a lot of kroner in working up plans, there is little doubt that new bosses and shareholders were nervous about such a huge investment in a potentially risky venture in Sheerness.

Vestas is not good at PR and had already suffered a bashing over its Isle of Wight plant. It has not properly promoted the fact that the factory was replaced by an R&D plant, and most casual observers think Vestas is no longer on the island.

Vestas has superb plants in Denmark and elsewhere, it is still a huge - and possibly the only - player in the one-stop shop wind turbine industry.

But it is a shame that their undoubted first-rank manufacturing performance will be overshadowed by a feeling that they led Locate inKent and Swale up the garden path, giving them false hope of a jobs bonanza.

Locate in Kent and Peel Ports were tireless in their wooing of Vestas. It seemed to have paid off. But they have been left standing at the altar, disappointed and a little embarrassed. The hopes of potential employees, including the dozens of apprentices being trained for the offshore wind industry, have been dashed.

Of course, there is always the outside possibility of reconciliation - but by then other partners may have come on the Sheerness scene. Let’s hope so.

Left - domestic cat photographed at Sussex.Over the last two days I've conducted two lectures to more than 300 people, and it's always amazing how many people come forward to report sightings of 'big cats' that otherwise they would have kept quiet. Witnesses come from all walks of life but it does help when someone who sees a 'big cat' has had some experience with differing species of cat. One chap came forward to say that a few years ago whilst walking at Pembury he'd seen a black leopard - I completely trusted his opinion as he'd worked with leopards many years ago. In the last few weeks there have been sightings of lynx and leopard from varying parts of Kent - Longfield (lynx), Dartford (black leopard), Sjeppey (black leopard), Sevenoaks (lynx) and Hempstead, near Gillingham (black leopard), Sitingbourne (black leopard) and in most cases I could say that I trusted the witnesses and their descriptions. However, it must be said that not all witnesses know what they are seeing, and too many times photographs and blurry film footga eof alleged 'big cats' makes its way onto websites and into newspapers when the reality is the images clearly show nothing more than domestic cats. This is very frutrating. I recall a few years ago one of the reputable (!) tabloids featured a photo on its front page of an alleged 'big cat' perched on a wall, whilst several cows grazed near it. The paper at the time claimed the photo showed the 'beast of Bodmin' and yet anyone with half a brain could tell it was a domestic cat - the shortness of the tail, the small pointed ears 9which happened to be close together), the short legs etc, etc. This happens all the time, and time and time again it allows the sceptics to make a mockery of decent research.

I present here a handful of images taken by people who claimed they'd seen a 'big cat' - naturally, some people will have genuine misinterpretations of dogs, feral cats, foxes etc, but the first image, taken at Jevington, Sussex, a few years ago, is interesting because the witness was adamant he'd photographed a black leopard. The photo made the local newspaper and yet clearly shows a domestic cat - even from a domestic cat anyone with a good eye should be able to tell the different between a leopard and a domestic cat - even a leopard cub shouldn't be confused with a domestic cat. The leopard has a long, curving tail, rounded ears, a muscular frame, especially in the shoulder and measures between 4 - 7 feet in length. Even a large domestic cat cannot match the description of a 'big cat'.

Left - the 'blob' of Sheppey - a domestic cat.The next image was taken at Sheppey not long ago, and I don't blame the witnesses for photographing it. The image shows a black dot in the distance, sitting at the edge of a field, stalking prey, but again, despite being a poor photo it does not show a black leopard. Also, another image more recently was passed around varying sources after someone claimed to have photographed the 'beast of Essex' and yet once again it is simply an unusual species of domestic cat. Whilst there are known to be smaller exotic cats in the UK - such as leopard cat, jungle cat, ocelot, and possibly caracal, and even jaguarundi, the photographs that appear in numerous papers etc, clearly do not show anything remotely exotic. It baffles me why newspapers etc use such images. Last year a paper down in East Kent sent me several photographs of a 'black cat' slinking along a street in the early hours of a morning. The reporter asked me what I thought about the "interesting photo's" andI just burst out laughing. The photo's clearly showed a domestic ca, nothing more nothing less, and yet several members of staff at the paper were sure this was a big cat. I get so many photo's sent to me by people who claim they've photographed 'big cats', and 99% of the time the images are of domestic animals, nearly always a moggy skulking along the edge of a field. Last year I visited a lady in Northfleet after she phoned me to say she'd photographed a puma in her back garden. I refuse to gte excited about any call until I fully investigate further, and in most cases photo's, and even a lot of sightings turn out to be nothing. Even so, I travelled to Northfleet and chatted with the lovely lady who showed me where in her garden this 'puma' had been and then she produced the photo - a domestic cat, albeit a rather matted loking one, sitting on a paving slab in her garden. The paving slab, in length, measured about 12 inches, hardly a monster cat! I asked the woman if she knew what a puma was, and she said, "Yes, that's one in the photo!"

Left - the 'beast of Essex' - simply an unusual species of domestic.I'm sure to this day she still has the photo and probably tells her family and friends it's a big cat and that I was mad for dismissing it, but as I always say to people, regarding 'big cat' evidence, you have to eliminate everything else first before considering 'big cat'. Another image I was sent came from a Mr Owens and reported seeing an unual spotted cat roaming around the outside of his property at Goudhurst. When he sent the photo I was amazed to see a lovely Bengal Cat. The striking markings, long tail, and muscular shoulder didn't suggest a 'big cat' but certainly an expensive pet that had obviously escaped from somewhere. The Bengal Cat is hybrid of domestic cat and leopard cat, and is a formidable predator in the wild but will be more than happy to show itself to humans. Nowadays such cats are kept as pets, and other forms of smaller exotic cats are also doing the rounds, some costing around £12,000! Not the sort of animal you'd want to escape from your house.

One must always remember that on too many occasions ohotographs that appear in newspapers or on internet sites and even on the news, are dubious to say the least, and if such an animal doesn't look like a leopard then it most likely isn't. It's always great to receive photographs of posisble 'big cats' and their evidence, but always try to get some type of scale when photographing animals from a distance, don't just take one photo, and if you can, try to approach, or at least, if the animal moves out of sight, go to the area and get a photo of you standing there, to judge height etc. Only recently film footage showing an alleged 'big cat' at Gloucestershire was palstered all over the main news (even though the footage was taken over a year previous) and to prove it was a 'big cat' the local researcher visited the area with a cardboard cut-out of what I presume was meant to be a 'big cat' although it looked like a deformed domestic cat. These are the sort of problems in judging scale etc, but hopefully the photo's I've presented here will give you an idea of what not to look for! Below, beautiful Bengal cat photographed in Kent in 2009.

The Easter period has been extremely busy regarding reported sightings of what the newspapers like to call 'big cats'. I'm sure the sceptics and detractors will be eager to give this post a 1 star out 5 rating, but these blog posts are merely being put out there for the interest of those interested, and the sceptics who wish to learn more.

In the last four days there have been sightings of black leopard at Aylesford, Harrietsham, Sheppey, and Ashford - unlikely to be one solitary cat doing the rounds, crossing strong rivers etc. There IS more than one black leopard prowling Kent and yet I recently watched a hilarious interview with a zoo keeper who stated categorically that if there were leopards roaming England then there'd be slaughtered livestock everywhere. What complete rubbish. Leopards could easily survive on a diet of rabbit 9there'd be no remains either), pheasants, pigeons, and deer, we know this because of the scat we've found consisting of deer fur etc. In 2001 I worked with Chris Packham. Now, I'm of the opinion that Mr Packham may, deep down, believe that there are puma and lynx roaming the UK, and yet when they interviewed a 'big cat' keeper down at Marwell Zoo, the guy dismissed sightings of leopard in the UK, stating there was no evidence. It's rather sad that no-one actually looks at the abundance of evidence being presented, and then whe the evidence does come to light they say it's probably from an escaped cat!!! Bizarre.

Anyway, the sightings of the Sheppey black leopard persist despite the naysayers, and every report made over the Easter holiday was of a black cat in broad daylight. The Ashford report concerned a couple driving back from Rye when the animal bounded across a field. The female witness reported seeing the blotchy markings under the dark coat - these markings being the rosette pattern. The Harrietsham sighting concerned a young girl who saw a huge black cat pacing near a dead tree. She ran all the way home to tell her parents. At Aylesford several young children reported seeing a massive black cat in their garden. So, can we assume that all these witnesses are hallucinating ? Sure, eye witness reports can be taken with a pinch of salt but there are thousands of reports of 'big cats', some by police officers, some by government scientists and conservationists, others made by doctors, and some even by sceptical folk.

I've always been happy to answer any questions sceptics may have regarding so-called 'big cats' in the wilds of the UK. The case for the existence of 'big cats' in the UK can no longer be doubted, I just wish that the doubters would actually crawl out from under the nose they can't see any further than, and look at the evidence.

I recall a few years ago that on the outskirts of London there had been numerous reports of domestic cats being killed, and in most cases eaten. Bromley, Bexley, Orpington, Petts Wood, etc, had various so-called 'cat rippings'. Instead of looking at the evidence the local press, and even the police, decided a cat serial killer was on the loose! A criminal psychologist was called in in an attempt to find the killer! Clearly, judging by some of the carcasses that were found, a large predatory cat was responsible - the puncture marks in the throat, the rasped flesh - but, after hitting too many dead ends, the local authorities blamed a fox!!!! So, what started happening ? People started killing foxes. The 'phantom cat ripper' moved on, but domestic cats were still being killed around the area.

There have been numerous reports in and around London of so-called 'big cats'. People scoff at the idea that a large cat could roam the capital - now, I'd never expect a lepard, puma et al, to be walking through Oxford Street, far from it, but the outskirts of the capital have several green, heavily wooded areas. Sydenham, Abbey Wood, Belvedere, and of course Surrey, are areas a large cat would prowl at night getting from A to B. In the '60s London was also the place where people kept such cats as pets. And in abundance. There are so many stories of people owning exotic cats, and I've put several of these in my latest book Mystery Animals of the British Isles: London. I was amazed at just how many people owned exotic cats, mainly puma and smaller cats, and kept them in their homes. I'm sure most of you will recall the fantastic story of Christian the lion cub who was purchased from Harrods Dept Store. But many of you will not recall the abundance of other cases where people owned exotic animals, so the book is worth a read if you're interested in 'big cat' stories and London's more beastly aspects of folklore.

Mystery Animals of the British Isles: London is available from Amazon.co.uk  etc

For many years there has been rumour that a large, black cat has been inhabiting the 30 square mile island of Sheppey. The thought that a cat - presumably a black leopard - inhabits the marshes of the island seems preposterous to many, and yet sightings continue. The Sheerness Times Guardian newspaper called me today to say they'd received a phone call from a Sheerness lady who claimed that last Thursday she had observed such an animal bounding down from the roof of a small industrial building. The sighting took place in broad daylight and her husband also saw the cat. I'd be happy to cast such a sighting to one side if it wasn't for the fact that since the mid '90s there have been consistent reports of a large cat on the island. Some would argue that sightings date back several decades previous to this but reports I've filed to sgguest this are scant. In my book Mystery Animals Of The British Isles: Kent I devoted a whole chapter to the 'black cat' of Sheppey and in 2008 visited the island with the BBC who set up a trigger camera for one week at Minster in the hope of catching the elusive animal on film. As expected, they didn't get the animal on film, but it was nice to speak to so many people who had seen the cat - and many witnesses had seen the cat in broad daylight.

Reports from the island are sporadic, mainly due to the fact that much of the island is marsh and the populated areas exist as small pockets - in other words, the only people who take to the marsh are farmers, hunters and dog-walkers. There are two ways on and off the island, two bridges, one which harbours a railway line, and some have theoriesd that this cat moves on and off the island via the railway line but this remains unfounded. A large, elusive, predatory cat would not have to leave the island if there was enough cover and prey - and believe me, there is. Although the territory of a leopard can stretch to several hundred square miles, the island, with its marsh, ditches, dykes, fields and hedgerows is ideal habitat for an animal that would normally hunt at night. And as for prey, the island is prefect. Rabbit, birds, rats, mice, foxes - the island is alive with wildlife, and farms full of livestock are dotted about the seemingly desolate wastes. Although the winter there is harsh, it would enable a large animal to move from A to B without being detected. The areas around some of the prisons are remote and the cliff edges are dense and steep. Some visitors to the island wouldn't even find the local radio station let alone a solitary and secretive cat!!

Some people believe that the reason a cat roams the island is because one such animal was released there in the '70s or '80s. It is very much a fact that in the '80s a chap did keep a large cat on the island - but it was a puma called Kitten. I don't know what happened to it, but a majority of reports describe a big black cat, which is not the colour of a puma (and anyway, a cat released in the '80s would be long gone by now). I'm also aware in the past that someone kept a lion or two on the island. The marsh area could certainly support a lynx or a puma, but occasionally a black leopard will be sighted as it crosses a field, or slinks along a roadside. There is also the opinion that the animal sticks to the coastal path, which in turn, if it wanted to, could take it off the island - it's no surprise that there have bene numerous reports from Sittingbourne, Iwade etc, just across the river - but I'm of the opinion that the cat is very much content on the island. The only issue of course is that a lot of shooting goes on in the marsh area...a few years back the Times Guardian did cover a story where a man claimed to have seen a big black cat shot by a farmer (who probably burned or buried the carcass) but there are some big feral cats on the island too, so who knows...

The so-called 'beast of Sheppey' has been observed in the summer months making its way along the back of some of the caravan parks on the island. It's been seen crossing near Warden Bay and observed near one of the prisons. The island is relatively flat with no real woodland - unusual habitat for a leopard which would normal patrol forest area. But again, at night the sland takes on a different form, much of the thirty-square mile territory is pitch black and stretches as far as the eye can see during the day.

The animal on the island may have been released there in the '90s at some point (in the mid to late '90s people reported seeing a young black leopard at Eastchurch), which would mean the animal is on its last legs now, unless of course there is more than one. The island certainly doesn't seem big enough to support a family of 'big cats' unless they were coming off the island. If one considers the woodland on the other side of the river, an animal that roams Sheppey could, the next day, be in Maidstone. One report however, which always sticks in my mind took place the day I filmed on the island with the BBC. Several witnesses were interviwed regarding their sightings of the black cat but when I got home after filming a taxi driver phoned me to say he'd seen a puma crossing a field. When he said "puma" I had to correct him and say, "Don't you mean a panther ?" (as most people get their species of cats confused) but no, he was adamant that what he'd seen was in fact a large, tan-coloured cat that crept across a field inhabited by horses. Every now and then a report of a puma takes place on the island and I don't doubt them, because however unrealistic sceptics think this would be, the isle of Sheppey remains one of the most ideal places for a cat or two to hide.

I'm more interested as to where it came from because as in so many of these sightings, the past seems to reveal alot more than the present day. By putting together the stories of the past however, we can hopefully answer the questions we seek today. Too many researchers look at the sightings nowadays and concentrate solely on them, but this will not give you any answers at all. If we can work out roughly how far back these sightings go, then maybe, once and for all we can determine if we've had cat populations for centuries, rather than decades. I know that animals existed in the woods back in the early 1900s and certainly a hundred years previous, but were they small populations which died out - only to be replaced by the explosion of releases in the 1960s, or are the animals of today offspring of those generations that we today, seem to ignore.

Martin Robinson heads for Sheppey's 5th try. Sheppey (red/white) vs Lordswood, Rugby action from Sheppey RFC, Lower Road, Minster, by ANDY PAYTON.

A frosty scene looking across the marshes towards the two Sheppey crossings, by MATT RAMSDEN.

Three cheers for Gordon Henderson, the new MP for Sittingbourne and Sheppey.

I chaired a question and answer session the other day at which he gave some forthright answers to some tough question by Swale business people at the flagship Kent Science Park.

It’s unfashionable to praise politicians these days, but it was good to hear a local MP with such a good grasp of business. As a former store manager of Woolworths and now a business consultant, he has a strong business hinterland.

Criticism of bankers was the main topic on the agenda, and for 30 minutes, he heard some horror stories about the failures of banks to invest in good small businesses. The banks may claim that there is plenty of money to lend but not enough good propositions. But hearing a succession of testimonies against banks is enough to make you doubt everything a banker says.

Banks are paying pathetic interest rates to savers despite the historic 0.5 per cent base rate, and widening their margins to borrowers. Loans that are approved to business are at such exhorbitant rates that would-be borrowers don’t want to risk it. Nor do they have any wish to put their family home on the line.

Gordon Henderson was sympathetic to all these views but the limits of power in a new MP were obvious to see. He promised to convey the local message to ministers, but it must be hard with so many knocking at their door to convince them.

That he has been around the block many times in business and political circles suggests he would make a good junior minister in Mr Cable’s department.