LOCH Ness monster fans claim their mystery beast is still the world’s number one creature of the deep despite the emergence of English rival ‘Bownessie’.

Disgruntled Scotsmen said Windermere’s mystery humped creature, supposedly snapped by kayakers last month, could never steal Nessie’s thunder.

“Bownessie certainly has a lot of catching up to do since our monster has been around for 1,500 years,” said George Edwards, skipper of Loch Ness pleasure boat Nessie Hunter.

“Our first sighting was in 565 AD by St Columba and that record is stored in the Vatican.

“There’s no doubt that we’ve got the number one monster.

"I’ve been skipper for 25 years and I’ve had a few sightings of a hump in the water that I couldn’t explain,” he added.

Loch Ness marketing director Willie Cameron said: “I’m delighted that you’ve got your own monster in Windermere but as for taking over from Nessie, that could never happen.

“The myth and legend stretches far back and we attract one million visitors a year and Nessie brings £25 million into the economy.

"We’ve got a brand bigger than Coca-Cola and I can’t imagine Bownessie ever achieving that,” he said.

Windermere’s mysterious humped creature was first spotted in 2006 by lecturer Steve Burnip of Hebden Bridge.

But it was not until kayaker Tom Pickles caught a picture of a humped animal on his phone last month that the Bownessie legend went global with news channels reporting a new contender to the Scottish monster’s throne.