THE infamous picture of Bownessie has come under fire from other holidaymakers.

Kayaker Tom Pickles caught a picture of a humped shape on his phone last month sending the Bownessie legend global .

While on a half term break with his family, businessman John Phillips, from Solihull, photographed a car tyre cut into four humps which was left in a bush near the lake shore.

“I’d seen a picture of ‘Bownessie’ in the Gazette when I was on one of the cruise boats.

"So when I came across these tyres I just thought straight away someone’s having a joke,” said Mr Phillips.

“The shape’s so similar to that in the picture I think someone’s having a big laugh out there,” he said.

“I don’t think Tom Pickles knew he was victim of a hoax but I can just imagine someone sitting in a bush pulling along the tyres by a rope,” he added.

But monster hunter and lake psychic Dean Maynard said the tyres were not solid evidence of a hoax and he still believed there was something out there.

“Mr Phillips spotted the tyres at Cunsey, miles from Belle Isle where Mr Pickles saw the creature.

"Also, if it was a hoax wouldn’t the person hide their evidence?”

Mr Pickles could not be contacted for comment.