This image appears to show what news reports have dubbed Crabzilla - a giant crab spotted lurking under the water in Whitstable.
The story has been covered in national press and featured in worldwide news after it first appeared on the Weird Whitstable website.
But many were sceptical, some saying it was a sandbank that just happened to look like a colossal crustacean, while others said the image had been manipulated.
Now artist Quinton Winter, who runs the Weird Whitstable website, has come clean and admitted that the picture was a hoax. He told Kent Online he was surprised the image had been taken so seriously.
"I don’t think anyone seriously believes there actually is a 50ft crab in Whitstable. What would it feast on? Fat, juicy Londoners?" he said.