Best Nessie sighting of 2014 - from a man who has never visited Scotland

SWEDE Bjarne Sjöstrand has won £2000 for the best Loch Ness Monster sighting of 2014 despite never having visited Scotland.

The systems administrator was sitting at home in Stockholm when he spotted a long thin object in the water on a Google Earth image taken above Horse Shoe Scree on the loch’s southern side.

It has been chosen from five contenders in the annual contest run by bookmaker William Hill in conjunction with The Inverness Courier. It topped an online poll on the Courier website, which attracted a total of 92,000 votes, and was confirmed by judges to be the year’s most intriguing image.

"I’m very happy to have won the prize," said the 52-year-old systems administrator who lives in Stockholm.

"I am very interested in anything regarding Nessie and the history of Loch Ness. The reason I found this image on Google Earth was that I was sitting one night at home reading about Nessie and Loch Ness on the internet and thought I would check to see if I could see something from above — and that proved to turn out well.

"I have never been to Scotland but my hopes are that one day I will visit Loch Ness."

Gary Campbell, who keeps the official register of Loch Ness Monster sightings, said Mr Sjöstrand’s image mirrored other reports of large eel-like objects in the water.

"Something like this cannot be explained," he said. "I would like to see further analysis of the photograph carried out."

He added that the result showed the continued international interest in Loch Ness and the monster. "Nessie is much bigger globally than people realise," he said.

Rupert Adams, PR manager for William Hill, said the number of votes cast demonstrated the popularity of the monster mystery.

All five finalists receive a £50 bet on the winner of the William Hill Scottish Cup.

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