A white witch and a Swedish scientist are going head to head in a bid to find the Loch Ness monster.

Their contest is being dubbed the "battle of the broomsticks".

The pair are both planning to arrive at the loch within days of each other at the end of April.

Kevin Carlyon, a High Priest in the British Coven of White Witches, is planning to sail out on to the loch and cast a protective spell on the illusive creature to the sound of bagpipes.

Meanwhile Jan Sunberg, a member of the Global Underwater Search Team, is making final preparations for an expedition to the loch during which he hopes to trap the monster and take samples of its DNA.

Both are predicting a showdown with Mr Carlyon, from Hastings, East Sussex, warning he may sabotage Mr Sunberg's mission. Mr Sunberg claims he will continue regardless of Mr Carlyon's activities.

Mr Carlyon, who has only recently recovered after he broke his leg falling over his pet black cat, said: "We basically plan to go out on to the loch and cast a spell on Nessie that will hopefully prevent her ever being caught. "

He added: "If Jan Sunberg turns up we may just have to circle his boat and put a spell on him too. It will be a battle of the broomsticks."

Mr Sunberg is taking his trip to Scotland far more seriously. His four-man expedition team will set a huge trap in a shallow area of the lake in an ambitious bid to snare the ancient monster of the deep.

Speaking from Sweden, he said: "This is a serious business... We will lay the trap and then when the monster is trapped we will study it and take DNA samples. We will then release it back into the loch. We are aware of the cynics but we don't care what they say."

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A white witch who cast a protection spell over Loch Ness says all future monster hunting expeditions will also be dogged by problems.

Kevin Carlyon says the power of his magic was proven during last month's failed trip by Nessie-hunter Jan Sundberg.

He even says the spell will prevent Mr Sundberg from solving other mysteries elsewhere in the world.

Mr Carlyon, who calls himself the high priest of British white witches, made headlines when he clashed with the Swedish scientist.

Now he has told Ananova that his magic hasn't expired, and warned: "Sundberg may find that the next thing he tries to find will be a complete flop, too, because of that spell."

He was speaking after Mr Sundberg claimed a "business mafia" worked to discredit him in case he killed off the tourist trade.

Mr Sundberg also claimed the witch was hired to make the search look "foolish" - a claim Mr Carlyon and others deny.

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