Sightings of Nessie are at their highest level for more than a decade – according to the Official Loch Ness Monster Sightings Register.

Gary Campbell, keeper of the register, said it was a “vintage” year for Nessie reports.

The register has now accepted five sightings for 2015, the most in 13 years.

Mr Campbell stressed that the majority of claimed sightings did not get included on the register as most could be explained.

Among those accepted was one logged by American tourist Crystal Ardito.

She took photos of the loch in July and realised there was a “grey thing” sticking out of the water.

Ms Ardito said she only saw the object for “a few seconds”.

Mr Campbell said: “This has been a vintage year for Nessie sightings. We’ve had five bona fide reports from people who were at the loch.

“This is the first time in 13 years that there have been this number of sightings reported by people who saw something while they were at Loch Ness.

“We were a bit worried in 2013 when no one saw her but it looks like she was just keeping her head down at the time.”

The last sighting of Nessie, according to the register, was on September 15 when local man Conor McKenna was driving along the loch side a mile south of Urquhart Castle.

He saw a dark-coloured 15ft-20ft long object in the water about 250 yards from the shore.

He had a clear view for six seconds before the object submerged, leaving a small wave where it had been.

In August, Linda Bates and her husband, from Yorkshire, were staying at the Loch Ness Holiday Park.

She photographed a “mass” moving in an undulating fashion in the loch.

Five other people also witnessed the sighting, which lasted for five minutes.

In April, Dee Bruce, of Elgin, was driving to Skye with her partner Les Stuart when she saw a black creature come out of the water near the north end of the loch.

The same month, a couple visiting Urquhart Castle reported seeing a large dolphin-sized shape emerging from the waters.

According to Google, there are about 200,000 searches each month for the Loch Ness Monster, and about 120,000 for information and accommodation close to Loch Ness.

The monster mystery is thought to be worth £30million to the region annually.