A GOOD deed turned into a haunting experience when kind-hearted Ted Pagdin decided to help out his elderly neighbour.

Mr Pagdin, aged 57, who lives in John Gwynn House, North Parade, Worcester city centre, was helping 85- year-old Mildred Kilbane and her sister Doris Anthony, aged 72, move from their home in Bridge Street when he says he saw a ghost.

In fact, Mrs Kilbane says she has seen many spirits - children playing, a woman carrying flowers, a young girl and Civil War soldiers - during her 18 years at the address. She's been unperturbed by her ghostly guests but decided to move to Bransford Road because of the anti-social behaviour of local earthly beings, who regularly kicked her door and knocked her window late at night.

"I liked living there. I wasn't frightened of the spirits. There were several times when I was lying in bed and felt someone was holding my hand," said Mrs Kilbane, who suffers from asthma and Crohn's disease.

But Mr Pagdin, who says he has seen a 10 year-old girl from the Civil War era four times now, was less relaxed about the sighting. "The first time did unnerve me. It was while Mrs Kilbane was still living there. I went to the bathroom to use the toilet and the little girl appeared next to me. I shot out of there and they said I looked really white. I told them I had seen a ghost."

"The second time was after Mrs Kilbane left and I went into the flat to take up a carpet that was left behind. I heard a voice singing and started looking for a radio but when I looked up she was sitting in the corner on a rocking chair.

"She had long golden ringlets and she was wearing a velvet dress with a cape and also with long frilly pantaloons."

Mr Pagdin says he saw her again when he was checking the flat for Mrs Kilbane's mail and when he told the sisters, they suggested he should speak to her.

He saw her again. "I spoke to her quietly and said I was not afraid of her any more. I asked her name and she said it was Lucille Pardoe. She was the daughter of a wealthy merchant. Her parents were Charles and Sarah Pardoe. They were all slain by Captain Saxon, a Parliamentarian, around the time of the Civil War."

Now Mr Pagdin is keen to research the history of that area of Worcester and find out if the Pardoe family lived there.

John Webb, co-founder of Worcester Paranormal Group, which investigates the presence of spirits in Worcester, said: "It would not surprise me if there were spirits in the Bridge Street area. All along the river in Worcester is quite active with them - including 'ladies of the night'. We have also heard about people seeing marching soldiers passing through buildings around the Battle of Worcester sites."