Loch Ness Monster found on Apple Maps?

An image captured by the mapping service appears shows a Nessie-esque figure

An image from Apple Maps, which has been interpreted as the Loch Ness monster in the Scottish Highlands (Apple Maps)

In what may be a game changer in the Scottish independence referendum this September, the elusive Loch Ness Monster has reportedly been spotted on Apple Maps.

Images on the satellite mapping service shows what appears to be a 100-ft-long floating creature, using its flippers to wade through the Loch in the Scottish Highlands with its neck dipped down into the water.

26-year-old Andrew Dixon, one of two people who separately spotted the Nessie-like figure, told the Daily Mail: “It was a total fluke that I found it. I was looking at satellite images of my town and then just thought I’d have a look at Loch Ness.”

The charity worker for the Great North Air Ambulance from Darlington, County Durham, added: “The first thing that came into my head when I saw it was, “That’s the Loch Ness Monster”. It was the shape of it I thought it had to be something more than a shadow.”

Mr Dixon alerted the President of the Official Loch Ness Monster Fan Club to the picture six months ago, who was pleased that the beast had been "seen" for the first time in 18 months.

Mr Campbell, who keeps a register of sightings, told the newspaper: "We’ve been looking at it for a long time trying to work out exactly what it is.

"It looks like a boat wake, but the boat is missing. You can see some boats moored at the shore, but there isn’t one here. We’ve shown it to boat experts and they don’t know what it is.

"Whatever this is, it is under the water and heading south, so unless there have been secret submarine trials going on in the loch, the size of the object would make it likely to be Nessie."

He also dismissed other "logical" explanations, including that the image merely shows a floating log or a seal causing ripples.