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Football floodlights were used in Loch Ness Monster hunt

Getty Images 1930s faked image of NessieGetty Images
The modern myth of the monster gathered pace in the 1930s but this famous 1934 photo was later revealed to be a fake

Scotland's first football floodlights were taken away to be used in a hunt for the Loch Ness Monster in the 1930s, a history project has discovered.

Inverness club Caledonian was thought to be the first in the country to introduce the lamps on poles for games at its Telford Street Park stadium.

But after use in just a handful of games, they were moved to Loch Ness after a reported sighting of Nessie.

A reward of £20,000 had been offered for the monster's capture.

However, Nessie evaded the hunt.

Details of the events have been uncovered in archives as part of Inverness Caledonian Thistle's Inverness Football Memories project.

It has collected information on Inverness football clubs and players going back to 1885, including more than 200 photographs and items of memorabilia.

The project, which was launched in May, aims to offer a resource to older football fans, including supporters with dementia.

High Life Highland's Am Baile culture and history website is hosting the project, and there are hopes of setting up a permanent display.

The Nessie search had been sparked by a sighting of a large creature crossing the Fort William to Inverness road near Loch Ness in July 1933.

The incident was reported in the Inverness Courier newspaper and people soon flocked to the area hoping to find the monster.

The floodlights did not return to Telford Street, and it was not until 1959 that Caledonian installed a new system. The switching on of the new lights was marked with a game between Caledonian and an Old Firm select made up of Celtic and Rangers player.

Gordon Fyfe, of Inverness Caledonian Thistle Community Trust, said: "The Nessie floodlight story is just one of the fascinating memories that our project is unearthing.

"Inverness has such a rich football history and it is fun researching the stories that made the headlines down the years and recording the stories of players, officials and supporters who helped make them."

Caledonian merged with Inverness Thistle to form Inverness Caledonian Thistle FC in 1994.