A TORFAEN pub - home to spirits of a different kind - is inviting people to take part in a ghost hunt and raise funds for local sport.

The souls of a little girl named Emily and a small boy in Victorian dress are said to be regular visitors to The Hanbury Arms, according to staff who don't like being in the building alone.

A man believed to a former executioner at the 1830s building where criminals were once hanged, is also said to be a frequent punter.

In the Pontypool pub on Clarence Road, some staff members are said to be unwilling to go into the cellar alone, while a group of construction workers walked out after reportedly experiencing tools being thrown at them, it is claimed.

Now the pub is working with paranormal investigation organisation Spectral Quest to hold a Halloween Ghost Hunt with all funds raised going to support local Pontypool school's rugby.

Landlord Mark Baker said: “We have been aware of things going on here that we can't explain ever since we first took over the pub.

"Staff members have experienced glasses flying off shelves while I have heard voices and seen figures in the cellar when I know that no-one else was in there.”

The event will take place on Thursday, October 30 starting at 10.30pm until 2am. Only 24 places are available and tickets cost £25 each and include hot beverages throughout the evening.

Spectral Quest founder David Hughes, from Cwmbran, who has been conducting paranormal investigations for more than ten years, explained that he and two other investigators recently spent the night there.

“It was one of the most active locations any of us have ever visited so we are hopeful of an eventful evening,” he added.

Tickets are available from the Hanbury Arms or at www.spectralquest.co.uk