However, with vote next week, timing of picture is somewhat suspicious

What are the chances of this happening?

You set up a time-lapse camera in the hope of getting some minute-by-minute shots of the ever-changing beauty of autumnal Windermere.

Instead, you capture the clearest snap ever taken of a giant, Loch Ness Monster-style beastie, so close you can almost see it smiling.

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This picture, apparently captured by an amateur photographer, appears to show a creature not unlike the Loch Ness Monster

The photo is said to have been taken by a man who left his camera at the side of the lake to automatically capture images throughout the day, but questions were raised over the suspicious timing of the snap

So the question must be asked: could this be a glimpse of a legendary monster that has been teasing, attracting and eluding sightseers for decades?

Or is someone trying to lift Britain’s gloom by suggesting Nessie has fled South in advance of the Scottish independence vote.

Add to that the fact the photograph was taken and tweeted by the firm that makes the clever automatic camera responsible for the shot, and it becomes a matter on which even a partial Scottish jury surely would not be able to agree.

Yet there are some intriguing elements to this, the alleged first picture of Bownessie, the Sassenach version of the famed Loch Ness Monster.

It was taken on an Autographer camera on a tripod at the Cumbrian lake shore at Brockhole.

Ellie Williams, who provides photographs for the company, claims she wanted to get a sequence of nature and wildlife shots taken throughout the day.

When the camera content was examined on Wednesday, it appeared she might have got more wildlife than she bargained for.

The dinosaur-like creature was apparently captured swimming or paddling into the distance before disappearing.

‘At first I thought it might have been a swan or a goose, as I was looking at the image quite small on my smartphone,’ said Ellie, 24.

‘I’m open to suggestions as to what the creature could be – I’m just glad I put the camera in the right place at the right time.’ Yesterday the company said it had examined the images and insisted they had not been altered.

A famous photo allegedly showing the Loch Ness Monster was taken in 1934, but was later said to be a fake

The legend of the creature attracts millions of tourists to Loch Ness, Scotland's second largest body of water

Lake Windermere - the largest natural lake in England - is situated about 40 miles from the Scottish border

With tongue firmly in cheek, marketing executive James Ebdon said: ‘At first, we thought it was a swan or goose, or on closer look, a larger animal like a horse with a saddle pack or something.

‘Whatever it is we will leave it to the experts.’

A spokesman for the firm insisted: ‘It certainly looks real. It’s ridiculous, but we can’t offer any logical explanation.’

He said the camera took shots every few minutes, so all the images were scrutinised to see if they revealed anyone putting something in the water or taking it out afterwards.