Bigfoot hunter claims giant 16 inch footprint and claw marks are ‘proof’ a 7ft apeman is roaming woods in Staffordshire

"I got an anonymous email from a man saying he had been flying a remote control plane over Gentleshaw Common at Cannock Chase who said he’d seen something unusual."

He raced to the nature reserve armed with a description of the location and was left in awe when he found the enormous footprint.

Lee says the print measured 16.1 inches from heel to toe - the equivalent of a UK size 25.

"I was astounded," he said. "I’d never seen a footprint that large in my life, and it was clearly not made using a mould or cast.

"That is probably the moment I realised the Cannock Chase Bigfoot was more than just a myth."

The 33-year-old - who has even penned a book of his probe into the British Bigfoot - then found beastly claw marks on a tree close to a dismembered deer.

"It looked as though something had bitten and then ripped out its throat before eating from the torso," he said.

"You see a lot of dead deer on Cannock Chase – often they’ve been hit by cars – but it was unusual to see one in that condition."

Lee even claims he once caught a sight of the massive ape-like creature while researching for his book, but it scampered off into the trees when he tried to approach it.

"It definitely moved more like an animal than a man, and it was easily seven feet tall," he added.

His obsession with finding the hide and seek champion has even seen Lee camp out in the woods in a bid for evidence, despite people thinking he is "mad".

The author's fascination began in his childhood when he watched documentaries on the legendary creature with his dad.

I was astounded. I’d never seen a footprint that large in my life.

Lee BrickleyBigfoot hunter

Lee explained: "All the famous sightings were in America, so when I was a bit older I started researching any UK sightings I could find.

"I just kept going from there and here I am. I think people like to keep an open mind about these things.

"Especially after they have read the reports and seen the evidence for themselves."

Tales of a forest-dwelling beast around Cannock Chase date back to the 1800s, the expert says.

We recently told how a woman claimed she was stalked by a Tarzan-like "apeman" hiding in the trees above her in North East England.

The woman, known as Karen, believes her sighting may have been the UK equivalent of Bigfoot - as the creature had long, dark, bushy hair.

Alleged sightings of Bigfoot have baffled adventurers for years, with a number of people claiming to have captured the mysterious creature on camera.

In August this year, an alleged Bigfoot sighting was reported at White Water Canyon in the US after a man took spooky pics appearing to show a hairy ape-like figure crossing a river.

Other suspected sightings have included a figure with human limbs, covered in black fur in the woods in Mississippi.

Another saw creepy footage of a bear-like Bigfoot wandering through the Canadian Wilderness.