NESSIE

AN ELECTRICIAN accused of being a Muslim holy warrior claimed he was hunting Nessie during an alleged jihad training course.

Somali-born Kader Ahmed, 20, told a court he went on a trip arranged by preacher Mohammed Hamid, 50, to Scotland at Christmas 2004.

He said they visited Inverness and Loch Ness and added: "I'd never been to Scotland before. It was very cold when we went up. It was snowing.

"It was very beautiful as well. I had never seen reindeer before."

He said they stopped near Loch Ness for a few days, sleeping in their minibus as it was too cold to camp, and tried to spot the elusive monster.

Ahmed, from east London, admits going on camping trips and paintballing sessions with Hamid's group, who included four of the men later convicted of the plot to bomb London on July 21, 2005.