FOUR travel agents are planning to spend the night with a 14th Century ghost for charity.

The friends, from Travelcare in North Road, Durham, will brave a possible encounter with Lily of Lumley when they stay in the dungeons of Lumley Castle, Chester-le-Street, on Thursday night.

"Most of us are pretty scared but we want to do something different," said assistant branch manager Dianne Wilde.

"We know the reputation of Lumley as a haunted castle and are prepared for the worst."

Ms Wilde and her colleagues, manager Karen Maddison, Michelle Storey and Lyndsey Todd, are collecting sponsorship for the Association of Children's Hospices.

Lily, the first wife of the castle's builder, Lord Lumley, who was a friend of Richard II, is the castle's most famous ghost

After her murder, she was thrown down the castle well.

But there are also tales of a headless horseman riding from Lumley Castle to Finchale Abbey, and the 17th Century ghost of murdered local woman Anne Walker.

"We will be taking candles, torches and sleeping bags, although we are determined to stay awake all night," said Ms Wilde.

"We will still be in pyjamas at work the next day to let everyone know how it went."