Surge in interest 'flabbergasts' ghost hunters

A member of the group on a ghost hunt

A ghost hunting group said it had seen an "amazing" increase in popularity as more people seek out the paranormal - with membership surging from 67 to almost 1,000.

The Manea and District Paranormal Investigators, based in Cambridgeshire, launched two years ago, but said the group really took off in February this year.

Organisers Alison Searle and Michael Amps said they were "flabbergasted" by how well it had gone.

"We welcome sceptics. We want actual proper proof that there is something after death, that there is something there," Mr Amps said.

Michael Amps said the team "had each other's backs" and always had a laugh

Ms Searle, who described herself as a "medium", met Mr Amps on a ghost tour.

The pair shared an interest in the paranormal - and set up their own investigations team.

"We bumbled along for a bit but we said, 'let's just do it'," recalled Ms Searle.

"We were shocked. We started with 67 in the original group and then a couple of months later we had 300, then 500 and 600. It just kept going and going.

"People are searching [for] something tangible... it's the not knowing and people want to find out if there is paranormal activity out there."

Alison Searle said the Manea and District Paranormal Investigators had captured "intelligent responses", such as knocks, whispers and sounds

One "exciting" occurrence recorded by the group was during a hunt in Saffron Walden, in Essex.

In a cellar, they asked "a presence" to move a decorative Father Christmas that had been in the corner of the room all evening.

As they were about to leave, they said it "fell out of its box".

Mr Amps told BBC Radio Cambridgeshire: "Things like that send shivers down my spine.

"We all love the hunt and trying to prove there is something there. At the end of the day, that's why we do it."