Fancy a spirit with your pint?

10:58am today Tuesday 17th June 2008

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IS there something strange in your neighbourhood?

Well according to the new owners of the Bridge Inn, Port Sunlight, patrons may be forgiven for feeling the presence of a ghost or two while sipping a pint.

"I started seeing orbs in the basement and a figure in the doorway downstairs."

Marie McNally

Because since Marie McNally and partner David Thomas took over as licensees of the pub and hotel the figures of a soldier, merchant seaman, young servant girl and distinguished gentleman smoking a cigar have reportedly been seen.

And deep in the eerily silent and dark basement, spectral orbs have been seen by both staff and paranormal investigators.

One guest also reported that her bed was shaken by a mysterious force during a one-night stay on the Bolton Road premises in June.

Marie told the Globe: "At first, when we took over I couldn't go downstairs into the scullery by myself, because I was petrified, but I didn't know why.

"I then started seeing orbs in the basement and a figure in the doorway downstairs. My daughter had also seen somebody in the reception area and there are certain parts of downstairs, which were the original servants quarters, that I couldn't go down into alone. On one occasion I was in the reception area sitting on a leather armchair facing out into the hallway when I saw a black ball floating down the middle of the hall really slowly."

One night Marie and David were sitting in the restaurant with a friend who said they had seen felt something and suggested the couple call in a team of paranormal investigators to find out what other supernatural beings were lurking below stairs.

It lead to a call from Rob Tate, leader of Liverpool-based Paranorm UK who brought his team to investigate. Their pictures taken in the basement show ghostly apparitions called orbs floating around.

Marie said: "People think you're crazy if you start talking about ghosts, but Rob came with his team and his colleague Fran, who walked into the restaurant and said there'd been a ouija board session there, which apparently the spirits weren't very happy about.

"I feel alright now, because I think we've made friends with whatever is here. Sometimes I still feel a bit nervous when I go downstairs, but don't feel they are going to do me any harm."