AN investigation of the supposed hauntings of a Colne Bridge pub has thrown up some spooky results.

Ghost hunters spent the night at the Royal and Ancient, which is said to be one of Yorkshire’s most haunted pubs.

The pub at Dalton Bank Road acted as a temporary morgue for children killed in a mill fire and for years customers and staff have reported ghostly figures and items moving of their own accord.

Paranormal investigator Mike McLeod led a team of analysts and researchers in an investigation of the pub.

And they are set to investigate further after some “interesting” findings.

The team set up cameras and special equipment as well as toy ‘trigger’ traps to try and contact any young spirits.

And although the resident spooks appeared camera shy, the team are excited about some results.

These include a faint figure spotted in an upstairs window and strange shadows darting across the cold cellar.

Mike admitted he didn’t pick up on any supernatural vibes, but says he is intrigued by the some of the images that the team snapped.

He said: “We investigated the alleged hauntings with some good results.

“When you get people saying my place is haunted we always hope to go in and catch something for them to prove the gossip.

“We didn’t catch evidence of paranormal activity on VT, but then ghosts don’t always come out when you want them to!”

Mike and his team focused their investigation on the cellar, where the bodies of 18 children killed in the fire at Atkinson’s Mill were placed before being moved to Kirkheaton Cemetery.

It is also said to be haunted by an aggressive former landlord named Mr Black.

Although Mike didn’t feel anything there, another member of the team, Pennine Paranormal Society founder Simon Booth, did.

Mike said: “Simon kept saying he could see shadows in front of him as a feeling of cold brushed past him.

“He captured a strange shadow on four consecutive shots. I took the same shots in the same spot but captured nothing.

“The pictures of the shadows are interesting because they were taken when it was pitch black, so there was no shadow light.

“We also checked to see if something else could have them like a camera strap hanging down, but the camera didn’t have a strap on it.”

While the investigators were there a customer reported seeing a child wandering past an upstairs window and they took a picture of the spot.

Mike said: “The figure is faint, if a figure at all, but the window clearly shows something.

“According to the owners there are reports of a girl wandering in that area of the pub and we did not know about this until we showed them the photo.”

Analysts are now using specialist equipment to examine the pictures further to see if they can rule out other factors that could have caused the strange images.

The team hope to stage another investigation at the pub later this year.