Nessie found: Does this amazing sonar image FINALLY prove Loch Ness Monster exists?

SENSATIONAL new sonar images appear to have found the fabled Loch Ness Monster after decades of futile hunting.

PROOF: Sonar images shows shape of Loch Ness Monster

Extraordinary underwater technology seems to reveal a 30ft creature laying on its side some 500ft below the surface.

But all is not what it seems.

The incredible finding is in fact a Loch Ness Monster model from the 1969 film The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes, directed by Billy Wilder and starring Robert Stephens and Christopher Lee.

REVEALING: The shape of the monster can clearly be seen

MOVIE: Scene from the 1969 film, The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes

It is thought the model sank after its humps were removed, never to be seen again – until now

Dubbed Operation Groundtruth, the discovery was made as part of the latest in a long line of monster hunts in the loch in Inverness, Scotland.

Meanwhile the underwater robot has so far found no evidence of the fabled beast's nest in section of the loch where it was thought to live.

But this comes just days after Nessie was spotted in London.

Speculation has been growing that the prehistoric beast has moved to more southern climbs.

Unbelievable footage appears to show a large creature swimming along the River Thames on two occasions.

WTF?: The creature appears to have several humps and is splashing in the water

Loch Ness Project leader Adrian Shine said the robot can can dive and navigate itself safely at great depth and take high resolution images.

In January a Nessie hunter found a deep crevice in the loch large enough to house the beast.

But he told Sky News: "So the Nessie's lair of a few weeks ago does not exist."

Loch Ness has been notoriously difficult to survey in the past due to its depth and steeply sloping side walls.

Munin can map vast areas to depths of 4,921ft (1,500m) and has been used in the past to search for downed aircraft and sunken vessels.

BEAST: There have been countless sightings of this eerie plesiosaur-like beast

Discoveries already made in Loch Ness's waters include a crashed Second World War bomber, a 100-year-old fishing vessel and parts of John Cobb's speed record attempt craft Crusader, which crashed at more than 200mph in 1952.

Despite no conclusive evidence of the famed monster, the mystery and interest surrounding Nessie is worth an estimated £60 million to the Scottish economy, with hundreds of thousands of visitors travelling to Loch Ness every year in the hope of catching a glimpse.

VisitScotland chief executive Malcolm Roughead said: "We are excited to see the findings from this in-depth survey by Kongsberg, but no matter how state-of-the-art the equipment is, and no matter what it may reveal, there will always be a sense of mystery and the unknown around what really lies beneath Loch Ness."