A SINISTER spectre is giving staff and visitors at a North-East museum a real chill.

For the past few weeks a series of spooky happenings has left staff and visitors to the Darlington Railway Centre and Museum scared out of their wits.

And the ghostly goings-on have seemingly been triggered by a story in The Northern Echo last month.

The article recalled a 150-year tale about an apparition that haunts the former North Road Railway Station, now the museum, believed to be the ghost of clerk called Winter, who shot himself in the station office.

Several reports have been made over the years, centred around the station's cellar and the nearby railway bridge.

But staff have reported an increase in ghostly activity in recent weeks. The most common involves an antique railway set that suddenly comes to life for no reason. One day, the Colonel Barrett train set started up on its own three times.

Other incidents include a mysterious figure appearing in the empty ticket office. One visitor even said he had been "mentally assaulted" by an apparition.

The museum's education officer Janine Taylor said: "It has been a very eerie few weeks at the museum.

"I have seen the train come to life for no reason, which has been very spooky.

"One gentleman seemed very distressed after he felt a presence in the ticket office, and a young girl said she saw a ghostly figure in there when it was empty.