Paranormal investigators are turning their gaze on old mill buildings near the scene of a fire which claimed 17 lives.

Members of Merseyside-based Sefton Paranormal Investigations visited the Huddersfield Auctions showroom on Thursday to gather evidence about possible ‘hauntings’ - almost 200 years on from a tragedy at Atkinson’s mill which claimed the lives of young girls in 1818.

It is believed that the Colne Bridge showroom was part of the Atkinson’s mill complex.

Steve Mynott, owner of the auction house, said the atmosphere in the mill at night had left him feeling spooked several times.

Steve Mynott, of Huddersfield Auctions, which is based in a 'haunted' mill

One night he was frightened by the feeling that something was lurking right behind him.

“Something made my hair stand up. I just had a funny feeling. It was spooky and I couldn’t wait to get out.”

He added: “It’s an eerie place at night and I am always looking over my shoulder. Sometimes the room is icy cold and then you come in on a morning and it’s nice and warm. Where’s the heat coming from?”

His dog, Ebb, a Patterdale terrier, once began barking in the direction of a boarded-up staircase.

“He was barking like crazy and then backing off. He was just barking at fresh air.”

Worker Graham Hargill's spooky experience

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Auctioneer Lee Martin said he too had picked up eerie feelings in the ‘back room’.

Paranormal investigators are hoping carry out various tests in the near future.

Pamela Robinette, a member of Sefton Paranormal, said they had already carried out tests and filming at the nearby Royal & Ancient pub which is on the site of a previous pub which acted as a temporary morgue following the 1818 blaze.

Auctioneer Lee Martin at Huddersfield Auctions

She said: “We picked up voices in the cellar and heard knocking noises come from doors. In a side room a bottle popped open.”

Whilst in the pub cellar, they said an object - thought to be a screw or a bolt - was thrown in their direction. Meanwhile, their sensors registered temperatures rising and falling.

Paranormal investigators outside Huddersfield Auctions

At nearby Jacamast Services, also based at Colne Bridge Works, Graham Hargill also has a scary tale to tell.

He said: “It happened to me on three occasions and happened at exactly the same spot. It was like a very cold tingle.”

He added: “It was just some weird thing - I really don’t know what it was.”

Huddersfield Auctions at Colne Bridge

“It was relatively warm and then it was like opening the door of a butcher’s deep freeze - but it was tingly. It was exactly the same spot, on three occasions.”

The paranormal investigators are hoping to return once they have clearance to spend several hours in the building with thermal imaging cameras, electromagnetic field detectors, infra-red cameras and other pieces of kit.

They are expecting their work in Huddersfield to appear on True Ghost Stories which is aired in America and other countries.