It was an eventful August bank holiday weekend in Clacton-on-Sea on Monday as police and people of this seaside corner of Essex embarked on a frenzied lion hunt.

It was reported on Sunday (August 26) that a "large cat" had been spotted at around 7pm, with members of the public advised to remain indoors.

Comments to the police such as "The moment I saw it, straight away I knew it was lioness.' and “I got the binoculars out and we could clearly see it was a lion” fuelled a new dimension of news fuelled by social. A poll was even created on the Guardians website tilted “Do you believe in the Essex Lion?” and a shocking 34% people said yes.

While police in Essex searched for a lion on the loose, social network users sat back and tweeted gags non-stop about the AWOL big cat. In one day alone social media generated in excess of 570,009 mentions.

The police took all the reports very seriously, with a police helicopter with thermal imaging technology and experts from Colchester zoo being involved in the hunt.

They have since called off the search. Police said the animal had not escaped from the zoo, but it is understood that at least one circus may have been touring the area recently. Essex Police's conclusion that the animal spotted was "either a large domestic cat or a wildcat".

Essex Lion Twitter page

The news of a potential lion on the loose captured the public imagination and three Twitter accounts - @EssexLion, @TheEssexLion and @Essex_Lion . The @EssexLion account amassed tens of thousands of followers within hours!

@EssexLion brought humour to the scary situation by tweeting “Roar bruv” and “I’m a lion, innit though?”

The creator of the Essex Lion Twitter account has so far sparred with TOWIE stars Amy Childs, Philip Schofield and Imogen Thomas.

Images that have gone viral..

Oh and the real “lion”

Police now believe the "lion" to be a large domestic cat. But how could so many people mistake a common-or-garden ginger tom for a dangerous African mammal in the first place? Well, it's all a matter of perspective.

A teenager has subsequently come forward admitting he caused the global social networking sensation over the fake ‘Essex lion’ after admitting he created the photo in Basildon street using photo editing software.

The teenager from Basildon, explained how after he heard the news on Sunday, he decided to mock up his own photo, which he then posted on Facebook and Twitter.

Unbeknown to him however, this spoof took on a life of its own and within a few hours became viral with millions of views all around the world!

If there's one thing Twitter loves it a home-grown drama like the mysterious "Essex Lion"

Aneka Hindocha, Social Media Executive @ MEC
Aneka.Hindocha@mecglobal.com

Twitter: @anekah