CUSTOMERS at a country pub high above Holmfirth have been encountering some strange spirits.

But there is nothing wrong with the drinks at the Dog and Partridge, at Crow Edge.

The spirits that are unsettling regulars are of the supernatural kind.

There have been reports of ghostly goings on at the pub, which lies in the Peak National Park between Penistone and Holmfirth.

Landlady Audrey Marsh said there was a strange smell that had a slight aroma of rotting vegetables.

It appears suddenly and can vanish just as quickly. Other times it follows people around the pub.

Mysterious footsteps, sightings of strange figures and missing objects moving about are all daily occurrences at the pub.

Mrs Marsh said there had always been rumours that the pub was haunted.

But ghostly goings on have become more common since last summer, when a £400,000 refurbishment was carried out.

A barn conversion to create 12 en suite guest rooms was also completed, but the new accommodation has so far not received any ghostly visits.

Mrs Marsh said: "It is just in the main pub. We have obviously disturbed something while we were renovating, supernatural or not.

"The usual things don't bother me, but the smell does when it is so strong customers have to move tables.

"They also say the first sign of a spirit is a smell."

A team of scientists from Northumberland will visit the pub this month to find out more about the spooky happenings. Mrs Marsh rang the team after hearing about them on a BBC Radio Sheffield interview about the supernatural.

The team jumped at the chance to go and spend a night there.

The team includes geologists and archaeologists who specialise in such investigations.

They will use monitoring equipment to try to find out whether the weird events have an earthly cause or whether there really is a ghost in the pub.

Mrs Marsh said: "I just hope the scientists will be able to tell me what the cause is so we can sort it out.

"I don't want to scare anyone off, it's not that bad. But I want to get to the bottom of it."

She said it would not surprise her if the building was haunted.

It was once a mortuary for travellers who met their end crossing the bleak moors.

The 16th century inn is sited on a medieval saltway route and was originally a farmhouse and alehouse which acted as a travellers' rest.

It was a popular meeting place and hosted events including prize fights and sheep sales.