A mysterious figure has been spotted off in waters off the Bristol Channel, with people naturally comparing it to the mythical Loch Ness monster... yes, even though it’s several hundred miles away from the land-locked Scottish lake.
Confused onlookers in Clevedon, a seaside town in Somerset, were surprised to spot what they thought looked like Nessie paddling around in the water near the Victorian pier at the weekend.
The supposed creature, thought to measure several feet long, was photographed by a number of people as they attempted to figure out what on earth it was.
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Anna Purse was out enjoying a walk along the seafront with her six-year-old daughter Grace on Sunday when she caught a glimpse of the ‘monster’ bobbing around in the water.
She said: “Myself and Grace were sitting on one of the benches before the pier. The shape was right next to the pier and I noticed it moving.
“It moved all the way along the sea in front of us while we were sat there. Grace said it looked like a sea monster, just the shape of it reminded me of Nessie.”
While Nessie’s not previously been confirmed to seek the Bristol Channel as her preferred vacation spot, the estuary has in the past welcomed various other creatures, including porpoises, the odd dolphin and seals.
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Others who spotted the creature also posted snaps on social media, along with comments about how it was obviously ‘lost’ and a long way home from its native loch.
Some locals also used the sighting to poke fun at a controversial new road scheme on Clevedon seafront.
One joked that it had been trying to park on the now infamous ‘wiggly lines’ painted along the beach, while another quipped: “Nessie getting a swim in before the council starts charging to swim to swim in the sea.”
The mystery of the Loch Ness Monster has been puzzled over for almost 100 years, with the creature often described as large, long-necked and with one or more humps protruding from the water.
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Last November, a man claimed he had clocked the beast while watching a webcam livestream from the loch, saying the black shape he captured on the screen is enough to make even the most stubborn cynics believe in the mythical creature.
Eoin O’Faodhagain said: “I noticed a splash and movement on the screen coming into view on the right, and a long black shape, and I immediately started a screen recording of this object.
“I got excited because it remained on the surface of the water, moving very slowly, unlike a large fish that would leap out of the water, but would then submerge.
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“This object was no fish or a log for that matter – it was moving at a controlled speed, slow, unlike a log which would be moving with the current.”
The seasoned Nessie hunter has already racked up multiple entries in The Official Loch Ness Monster Sightings Register, and often logs into the webcam to keep an eye on the Scotland-based creature from the comfort of his home in County Donegal, Ireland.
Jess Hardiman