No catnapping at the wheel when Mrs Cheetah's around (From The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald)

No catnapping at the wheel when Mrs Cheetah's around

Eileen and Trevor Witts celebrated their 44th wedding anniversary in Kenya Ref: 77752-160WHEN they decided to celebrate their 44th wedding anniversary in Kenya, Eileen and Trevor Witts didn't expect to come face to face with a wild TV star.

And they were thrilled when Kike (pronounced Keekay), a magnificent female cheetah which featured regularly in the BBC series Big Cats, leapt on to the bonnet of their jeep in the Masai Mara game reserve.

"Our driver Joseph was even more excited than we were," said Eileen, 65-year-old former secretary of Wiltshire County Netball Association. "All the men who drive parties through the reserve know the animals and can identify them, but we were really lucky to get so close to her.

"Joseph saw her and stopped and she just came across, jumped on to the bonnet and stared at us through the windscreen."

Kike's mate, however, maintained a disdainful distance.

The TV programmes, filmed in the Masai Mara reserve, are presented by Simon King and Jonathan Scott.

"Apparently leaping on to Jonathan's jeep is her party piece," said Eileen.

The couple, who live in Windsor Road, have a grown up family of one son and two daughters and are also the grandparents of four. Trevor, 66, is a retired office manager. Eileen, 65, still trains a junior netball team at Dorcan.

"I have often watched Big Cats and love the programme," she said. "But I never expected to be lucky enough to see the cheetahs from as close as that."

It was the couple's fourth safari trip to Kenya.

"We stayed in lodges before but this time we slept in a big military style tent. We had running water but no electricity.

"And we wouldn't have missed any of it," she added.