'Mystery monkey' on the loose in Dorset

A teenager claims to have spotted an "escaped monkey" running around a park in Dorset - and even managed to get a picture of the "ape" on her mobile phone.

Student Terri Leigh Cox, 17, said she saw what looked like a primate running around the park from her bedroom window in Dorchester, Dorset, and insists it wasn't a cat or a dog.

According to the Mirror, she said: "It was such a shock – I couldn't believe what I was seeing at first. It looked about the size of a small gorilla.

"It was walking like one as well, using its arms and feet.

"It was definitely a monkey because you could tell by its hunched back and the way it scampered across a field and up a tree. It wasn't a black dog."

The park where Terri saw the creature is 10 miles away from the Monkey World attraction in Wool, but staff said there were none missing.

A spokesman for Monkey World told the Daily Telegraph: "I can confirm that all of our rescued monkeys and apes are safe and well in the park", adding: "The image is not clear and it is difficult to make out, so we would be unable to confirm its identity."

Terri said she managed to get one photo before the creature disappeared.

She added: "I have no idea what the monkey was doing there. It could have escaped if someone was keeping it as a pet."

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