WHEN Roberta and Colin Davies moved from London to Bolton, they left behind all their 'old haunts' . . . bar one!
The move may have been a long distance one, but unknown to them they were able to retain 'the spirit' they thought they'd left behind in the capital.
Within a month they were reunited with one 'departed' friend they felt sure they would never see again.
The 'friend' in question was a ghost who must have climbed aboard a removal van, when Roberta and Colin made their journey to their new home in Great Lever.
The spirit, who wears a long overcoat and brimmed hat, haunted the couple's home in London and they were amazed when he turned up in Bolton. Proof reader, Roberta, 36, said: "He must have been upset to see us go, so came with us. We have never heard of a ghost following a family before. Usually the ghost haunts the property. I was amazed when he turned up in Bolton."
The couple first noticed the spook in their London flat in 1987, and now Roberta admits: "I would probably miss him if he wasn't here.
"Sometimes he can be quiet and at other times really active. At times I get a glimpse of him coming down the hall and at others you feel as though someone is standing right behind you.
"It is not frightening, so much as annoying. He hangs around. When I first noticed him I felt sure it was Colin playing games. "Sometimes he can get excited and starts banging about on the bed or furniture. When we were packing to leave our London flat, he must have been very upset because he started banging about and thumping on the bed.
"Last summer I had an accident and was in hospital, and Colin says he started banging around again.
"He doesn't do anything positive to help us, but he is certainly not hostile either."
Roberta believes the ghost could be the spirit of Greek-born Peter Pashalis, who died in 1981, aged 62, at their flat in London.
His body was not discovered for months after his death.
She said: "He is a dark figure always in a long, heavy overcoat.
"I never see his face or legs and it also looks like he wears a hat."
Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.
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