Leader: Could it be a new generation 'Nessie' making a splash?

IS IT - or isn't it? New photographs have emerged which, it is claimed, could be the hump and part of a tail of the elusive Loch Ness monster. William Jobes, an amateur photographer, has been visiting Inverness for the past 45 years and believes he may have snatched a picture of the much-fabled but all-too-rarely spotted monster of the loch.

Details are scant because "Nessie" - or it just might have been a piece of old stick - dived suddenly. It was also a misty morning, which didn't help.

Can it really be the monster that has held successive generations in thrall? If so, "Nessie" must be getting on somewhat. An alternative - and altogether more intriguing - theory arises. It's not "Nessie" at all, but his grandson - or granddaughter - Harper Seven Nessie as she would be known.

Picture enhancement would be likely to show the tell-tale features of a new generation taking over in the loch: the trailing earphones to a waterproof iPhone; the ubiquitous dress ring through the rose. Were a teenage Nessie to be the sole survivor, this would account for the rarity of appearance much before 12 noon most days. The real giveaway, however, would be a Lady GaGa miniature tattoo on the left buttock. Such a picture would almost certainly have gone to Hello! for an undisclosed sum.