A whisky warehouse worker has taken a picture of what could be one of the most convincing Loch Ness Monster sightings to date.
Ian Bremner, 58, was driving around the Highlands in search of red deer - but stumbled instead across the remarkable sight of what appears to be Nessie swimming in the calm waters of Loch Ness.
The father-of-four spends most of his weekends in the region taking photographs of the stunning natural beauty.
But it was not until he got back to his home in Invergordon that he noticed three mysterious humps emerging from the water in one of the frames.
The picture appears to show a silvery creature swimming away from the lens with a snouted face and two humps visible in the water.
Bremner shot the image on the banks of the loch on Saturday afternoon.
He said: “It’s a part of the world that always makes you second guess what you’re seeing.
“When you’re up there you’re constantly looking in the water to see if you can spot anything in there.
“This is the first time I’ve ever seen Nessie in the loch. I would be amazing if I was the first one to find her.
“I’m normally a bit of a sceptic when it comes to Nessie and I think it’s just something for the tourists but I’m starting to think there is something out there.
“When I saw it on my screen I said: ‘What the hell is that?’
“If you’re fishing there it’s the sort of place where you can get a tingle up your spine and second guess what you’re seeing.
“You start seeing things even when you know fine there’s nothing there.”
Bremner believes his image fits with the description of Nessie as a long, serpent-like creature, which has reportedly been dwelling in the lake since 1933.
Encounters from that year also tell of a 10ft long limbless creature crossing the road leaving behind a slimy trail of undergrowth.
And in 2001 a pair of fishermen spotted a dark 6ft long “blob” sticking its head out of the water and remain adamant that it was not a seal.
There have been five other reported sightings of the monster this year, which including Bremner’s latest, is the highest number since 2002.
Some of Bremner’s friends however, think his picture actually shows three seals playing in the water.
Bremner concedes: “I suppose it could be seals - but I’m not so sure. The more I think about it, the more I think it could be Nessie.”
Over the years there have been 1081 recorded sightings of the Loch Ness Monster lurking in the water.
Despite there being no conclusive evidence of the famed beast, the mystery and interest surrounding Nessie is worth an estimated £60 million to the Scottish economy, with hundreds of thousands of visitors travelling to Loch Ness every year in the hope of catching a glimpse.
According to lore, the serpentine beast is said to have haunted the loch since 1933.
Believed by many to be the last of a line of long-surviving plesiosaurs, (a Jurassic marine reptile) legend has it that the creature appears along with earth tremors and swirling bubbles.
Nessie first hit headlines in 1934 when the Daily Mail published what it claimed was the first picture of the beast.
The photo was later revealed to have been staged, but there has been no shortage of images since.
In recent months, sightings of an unidentified creature in the River Thames have led to speculation she may have been holidaying in the capital.
One possible candidate linked to the sightings is the wels catfish, which is the largest freshwater fish in Europe. It can live for decades, possibly even as long as 80 years, the National Geographic reveals.
In February twin Italian brothers caught a 9ft long wels catfish in the Po River of northern Italy.
The animal was dubbed “the monster of the Po” by the Italian media, the Telegraph reports.