“Lough Ness Monster” scares locals

The Loch Ness monster may have gone extinct, but there are still mysteries in the lakes of the British Isles. Residents near Stonebow Washlands in Loughborough, Leicestershire, have been warned to keep their children away from the water after a mysterious beastie devoured some ducks.

There’s no clear description of the “monster”, but a witness tells a grim tale of seeing ducks get sucked into the water, never to be seen again.

Nobody is sure what it is, but the chairman of the Charnwood Wildlife Protection Group has confirmed that the lake’s duck population has decreased noticeably since the sightings. While most observers believe it to be some sort of locally uncommon fish like a catfish or pike, there’s also the hint of a good old-fashioned mystery.

Considering how much money the residents around Loch Ness have made off of unconfirmed sightings of their own lake monster, even creating a Nessie Museum and the statue pictured here, the folks at Loughborough might just be onto something good.

Pity about the ducks, though.