STANDING at the back of the dark theatre during a play, Peter Tate was somewhat unnerved when he encountered Signor Pepi - as he had been dead for nearly 70 years.

Mr Tate, a former police sergeant, now duty manager at Darlington's Civic Theatre, had noticed a shadowy figure out of the corner of his eye, only to swing round and find it had gone.

His tale is one of many stories of ghostly goings-on at the theatre.

Staff have heard footsteps in empty corridors, doors have shut on their own and usherettes have been tapped on the shoulder only to find no one behind them.

There have even been sightings of a Pekinese dog - believed to be the ghost of Signor Pepi's pet.

And the theatre's cleaners say seat HH13 in the dress circle is his, because it is the only one with the seat down when they arrive to clean each morning - as though the ghostly visitor has been sitting there during the night.

Italian-born Rino Pepi opened the Civic Theatre in 1907.

He had an apartment there, with access to the dress circle, which is where most of the ghostly sightings have been reported.

"His greatest theatrical coup was getting the world prima ballerina Anna Pavlova to perform here," said Mr Tate.

"But he didn't get to see her because he died that day, November 17, 1927.

"There is no malevolence, he just seems to be keeping an eye on things like he would have nearly 100 years ago."

Mr Tate plans to start ghost tours at the theatre.

But before they begin, Yorkshire Psychic Investigators, a ghostbusting team, carried out their own study on Friday night, using sound and image recording equipment.

A medium also picked up on a ghostly presence backstage, coming up with an Italian connection and the initials SRP.

Furthermore, digital imaging picked up orbs, a sign of paranormal activity.

Kathryn Goodfellow, from the theatre, said: "It was very eerie and, to be honest, a bit creepy."

A full report of what the investigators found at the theatre will be posted on the group's website, at www.yorkshirepsychicinvestigators.co.uk