A tiger once sparked terror in a Kent town, petrifying residents and even driving some out of the area.

Plassey, a pet army Bengal, would be walked by his keeper into the streets of Dover.

Locals panicked and one elderly woman didn’t dare come out of her house.

Traders complained that the beast was affecting their businesses as people were increasingly shopping in Folkestone to avoid him.

The mayor of Dover was bombarded with protest letters, such was the pandemonium in the town in Victorian times.

Now, a photograph of the big cat has been secured at an auction by the town’s Western Heights Preservation Society (WHPS) and donated to Dover Museum.

In April 1870, the 102nd Royal Madras Fusiliers arrived in Dover from India, bringing with them their three-quarters grown Bengal tiger cub.

He had been captured in a hunting expedition by two officers and named after the battle fought by Clive of India against Indian and French forces in 1757.

The big cat was given a pen under the Officers’ Mess, the magnificent orange-coloured building of the Citadel fort on the Western Heights that is still there today.

But the tiger was very placid. He never hurt anyone and was playful.

He used to roam around the Officers' Mess during Regimental dinners while officers fed him from the table. But the protests continued.

Matters came to a head one night after his keeper Sergeant Hartopp, who had been drinking in the town, slipped past the guard and found Plassey’s pen, falling asleep next to him.

The gate guards were too afraid to retrieve him as Plassey snarled at them when they approached and put a paw on Hartopp, defending him.

Hartopp staggered out the next morning and was promptly arrested.

Fort commanders gave in to continued protests from the public, particularly as Plassey had shown signs of aggression. They sent him to London Zoological Gardens where he continued to live until 1877.

His skull is currently on display at the National Army Museum.

The photograph of Plassey at the front of the Officers’ Mess was taken by Alexander Grossman who had a photographic studio in Snargate Street, Dover.

It was released commercially as a Carte de Visite.

Although the image has been seen before it is the first time the society has had access to an original as only a handful survive.

WHPS committee member Phil Eyden said: “I have been looking for a Carte-de-Visite of Plassey for a decade and this is the first one I have ever seen.

“I am really pleased we have saved this lovely photo for posterity. A total 154 years later and Plassey’s photo is finally back where it belongs.”

The Western Heights are a natural hill area with centuries-old fortifications dug in.

WHPS is opening two other parts of its former defences to the public this year, the Drop Redoubton June 22 to 23 and the Grand Shaft every third Sunday.