A YETI has been spotted in a Lancashire woodland claims a 'big foot' research group.

And now it is calling on other witnesses to come forward and tell their stories.

The British Hominid Research group has reports of an American woman, her two children and a friend, spotting the 'yeti' like creature while walking through local woods in December.

The group says it is investigating the incident and will release more details at a later date.

Geoff Lincoln, the man behind British Hominid Research, says: "In the past year I've had people contact me from all over the country, genuine people, totally positive about what they have seen. I'm sure there must be lots more people out there who have had similar encounters, but are just too afraid to come forward. I hope that I can reassure them when I say that they are definitely not alone.... others are seeing them too."

Mr Lincoln adds: "Although elusive and mysterious, there is a wealth of evidence available in favour of the Yeti's existence and experts now agree on there being a certain amount of logic behind the argument that an unknown species of hominid could be living in various parts of the world.

"When it comes to a country like Britain, small, overcrowded and with precious few wild areas left, sightings of a man-like creature become a little harder to digest. But it is with a steady and unnerving regularity that reported encounters continue to come in.

"Unfortunately most of these witnesses choose to keep their encounters secret, or tell only a few close friends, so any serious research is very difficult indeed."

If you have seen a Yeti, contact Mr Lincoln via his e-mail address on lincolns@ntlworld.com