City gives away £375,000 manor 'because it is haunted'

Wymering Manor in Portsmouth, Hants, is said to be haunted by a choir of nuns who scuttle across hallways as well as a host of unseen hands which reach out and touch passers by.

The property, thought to be the oldest house in Portsmouth having been mentioned in the 1086 Doomsday book, was placed on sale at an auction with a reserve price of £375,000 last year but failed to sell.

Portsmouth City Council have now donated the Grade II listed building to the Wymering Manor Trust along with a £30,000 grant for repair work.

The group will attempt to restore the house to its former glory, estimated at a total cost of more than £500,000, before opening it as a tourist attraction.

The spirits of whispering children and Sir Roderick of Porchester, who was murdered outside the manor in the middle ages, are said to be among the ghosts haunting the property.

Ghost-hunters have reported the sudden drops in temperature and other strange apparitions that go on inside the building.