THEY came from Hollywood in search of a ghostly presence - and the team of American ghostbusters who visited Chorley this week say they were not disappointed.

Parapsychologist Dr Larry Montz and his team of mediums and scientists descended on the Euxton Mills pub, Wigan Road, Euxton, last Monday to film for an American TV documentary on the paranormal.

The group claims to have found evidence of spirits in the pub - and not just the alcoholic kind!

Landlord Keith Burgess explained that the investigators found evidence to suggest the presence of several ghosts, including a grey lady which some regulars claim to have seen.

He said: "There was a chap who went round with a device rather like a Geiger counter, and every time he detected a presence the needle went up. And it went up several times! It's certainly been a talking point for the locals.

"The strange thing is that the team didn't have any clues as to where the ghosts were, but managed to pinpoint the grey lady in the place where the locals said they had seen it."

Dr Montz and his team were alerted to the possibility of ghosts there by Clayton-le-Woods-based author John Sutton, who has written several books on the paranormal and also appeared on American TV to discuss the subject.

Despite the team's findings, Keith Burgess is keeping an open mind: "I'm one of these people who needs to see something before I believe it. I've worked at several pubs and there have always been reports of ghosts. The difference in this case was that the reports were coming from about half a dozen people.

"But if there is a ghost, it seems harmless enough. If it was an evil spirit, then it would have done something nasty by now."

The documentary will appear on American TV later this year.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.