For white witch Kevin Carlyon crossing the path of a black cat proved to be not such good luck.

While superstition has it that it should bring good luck, Mr Carlyon broke his leg tripping over his pet moggy Doctor Fluff.

But the High Priest of British White Witches is hoping for better fortunes in a quest to save the Loch Ness monster.

Kevin, 40, of Dane Hill Road, St Leonards in East Sussex plans to cast a spell to the sound of bagpipes on the elusive Nessie next month to protect her from tourists and scientists.

He said: "Doctor Fluff is one of ten black cats my wife Sandie and I got about ten years ago.

"I went up to my room one day and she got under my feet.

"It was either tread on her or jump over her so that's what I did. When I landed my leg made a cracking noise.

"I went to the Conquest Hospital and they told me I'd broken two bones and thought I must have been parachuting or something."

Kevin pledged to protect Nessie's privacy after he heard Swedish scientist Jan Sunberg hoped to trap the monster and take samples of its DNA.

Kevin said: "Protecting Nessie was a tongue-in-cheek remark but people have picked up on it. Now I'm going to make it a reality."