PLUCKY Mavis Jackson-Gould is making a truly spirited effort to raise cash for Children in Need - by spending a sleepless night with some spooks.

She's the head custodian at 900-year-old Pickering Castle and tomorrow night she will be taking her responsibilities far beyond the call of duty.

Together with former custodian Barbara Martin she will be spending the hours of darkness in the fortress's notoriously haunted Diate Hill Tower.

The tower, one of three on the outer wall, was once used by soldiers to guard the battlements and was built on the orders of Edward II.

Ghostly sightings in the past have included a monk walking up and down the ancient staircase and an apparition of a medieval lady.

Yesterday, Mavis was putting on a brave face before the ordeal ahead.

"We wanted to do something unusual to raise cash, and the castle vigil seemed the perfect answer," she said.

"The fortress will be under lock and key, so we will wrap up warm and hope any ghosts are otherwise engaged that night."

Diate Hill Tower is believed to be named after a medieval version of community service as the old English term "dyet" denoted a day's compulsory work undertaken by peasants to maintain local defences.

Nearby Rosamund's Tower is also allegedly haunted and was named after the ill-fated mistress of Henry II, said to have been poisoned by his jealous wife, Eleanor of Aquitaine.

Although Mavis takes a deep interest in the castle's history, she is hoping she does not bump into either ghost during the night ahead.