A LOCAL author believes a rare photo could hold a clue to a sunken Spanish Armada treasure trove in the waters off Portencross Castle.

Stephen Brown bought the image showing an artists' depiction of the area from the 1800s from an art dealer in San Francisco.

He claims it could contain a hidden message to the location of the booty because of the unique vantage point it was produced from.

Stephen, an expert on the sinking of the Spanish fleet in 1588, says: "It makes for a very interesting picture, I believe it originates from the early 1800s.

"It is a contemporary picture from the early 19th century - it is about as close as we are going to get.

"I was searching on an antique arts website and came across it and jumped at the opportunity to purchase the picture as I have only seen a photocopied version of it in the past - I have never seen the original.

"It would have been originally hand-drawn and provides an artist's perspective of what Portencross was like at the turn of the 19th century.

"What is interesting is it's drawn from where Shore Cottage, which was built in 1840, is just now.

"We know that an Armada ship went down around there with treasures on board. There were silver coins and a box of jewel-encrusted swords, and these have never been found.

"About 80 years after the ship sunk, a young girl stumbled over some items and there is a possibility that there may be more treasure to be found. This photo could hold a few clues."

He said: "The drawing itself was by a J.Denholm, who travelled around the west of Scotland depicting well known landmarks of the period, like Portencross.

"The question of how the drawing itself made it all the way to San Francisco is an interesting one in itself. It looks like it may be a page from a book, which may have been handed in at a second hand shops and some of them would have been shipped over to America.

"This could have real historical merit."

In 2015, Stephen published his own book 'The Portencross Armada Conspiracy: (And How the Spanish Landed in Ayrshire)' and reveals the identity of the Spanish Armada ship that sank off the coast of Portencross.

The author also describes and illustrates the "successful" 1740 salvage operation that saw 20 Armada cannons brought to the surface.