'Loch Ness Monster With Four Foot Neck Pictured' By British Historian

Now I'm not saying that's what happened to Ricky Phillips, who claims to have seen the mythical beast which has featured in tall tales for centuries - but it's highly likely.

Ricky, 40, says that he was 'baffled' by the alleged sighting when he was taking a walk along the River Oich, a short river that flows through the Great Glen in Scotland.

The British military historian reckons the creature had a four-foot neck and a head the 'size of a rugby ball' - now, I'm no expert but that would mean its head was engulfed by its neck, surely?

Enough of the logistics.

Ricky, who hails from Edinburgh and works as a tour guide, claims the sighting took place on 13 December at around 2.40pm.

"The previous Wednesday I had heard a strange noise as I was stood by a cafe at the edge of the loch in Fort Augustus. The noise sounded almost metallic, but like something was blowing air - like Darth Vader.

"I have swum and sailed with whales and dolphins, seen hundreds of seals, and it sounded like nothing I have ever heard. I spun around and saw something grey, just a side of a body and a flipper. Okay, this could have been something explainable, so I left quite interested but unsure.

"The noise was really weird though."

"My tour party went on their cruise I decided to take a walk along the river Oich, mainly to see the old bridge, and was taking a few pictures of the loch and the scenery when I again heard that curious noise.

"I looked up from my phone and saw a long, straight neck, all completely grey, and a narrow face, which was only about 20ft away and then it turned and disappeared all in a few seconds.

"I looked down and realised that it was in my picture, so zoomed in and there it was. It actually looks like a giant bird or a peacock in the face, with high ridges above its eyes and what almost looks like a beak.

"I know dinosaurs came from birds and that many had hard lips, almost like a beak - but this is simply what I saw. It seems to have almost a frill on its neck. It is very odd.

"All I will say is that, if I was going to fake a Nessie, I would certainly have made it look less like a bird and more like... well, more like what we think Nessie looks like!"

So, there we have it - he's saying it was probably a large bird?

Well, if I've figured one thing out from this, it's how downright sceptical I really am when faced with things like this.