Is a monkey on the loose in Dorset?

A teenager claims to have seen a monkey on the loose in Dorchester. Terri Leigh Cox, 17, captured a photo of the mystery creature from her window in Fordington. She claims the ‘monkey’ scampered across Salisbury Fields and up a tree on Thursday afternoon.



Miss Cox said: “It was such a shock I couldn’t believe what I was seeing at first. It was definitely a monkey because you could tell by its hunched back and the way it scampered across the field and up the tree. I managed to get a photo but it quickly went out of sight.

“I couldn’t see it very clearly but before I could get closer it had disappeared.” The expectant mother added that despite initial doubt from her family and friends, everyone who had seen the image admitted that it looked like a monkey. She said: “I have no idea why a monkey would be on Salisbury Fields, it could have escaped if someone was keeping it as a pet.”



Local residents expressed their shock at the alleged sighting. Jean Cumber, 80, who lives adjacent to the fields, added: “It does seem very strange but I would never say never about anything. I’ve never seen a monkey or anything like a monkey in Dorchester before.” Derek Dodd, who walks his dog regularly in the area, said: “I have seen a lot of wildlife on these fields but a monkey-like creature isn’t one of them. “