Help! My House is Haunted host Barri Ghai at Pontypool pub

The host of Help! My House is Haunted will be investigating The Hanbury Arms in Pontypool on Friday night, locking himself in with any spirits who might be present.

The pub is renowned for its paranormal activity, with a number of spirits said to have been spotted there, and with two coffins housed in its cellar.

A man, believed to be a former executioner, is reported to be a visitor to the building - which dates back to the 1830s - where it is said criminals were once hanged.

As well as the executioner, the souls of a little girl named Emily and a small boy in Victorian dress are also said to be regulars.

Coffins in the cellar of the former Hanbury Arms pub. Picture: Ollie Barnes/Paul Fosh Auctions.

Staff at the pub are said to have previously witnessed ‘orbs’ of light darting about the bar, and have said lights have switched on and off with no-one in the room and that barrels of cider burst open in the pub’s cellar.

Workmen who refurbished the building upstairs claimed they felt a bitterly cold presence, accompanied by a feeling of dread, causing them to down tools.

And a former manager claimed to have heard whispers coming from the empty cellar and refused to enter certain parts of the pub alone.

When the pub was listed for auction last year, there were two coffins – thought to date from the 15th century – in the cellar. Coffins had been stored in the cellar in the past – as it was cold and dark – for the church across the road. They would be taken out a side door at the pub many years ago.

Barri Ghai (left) with Sandy Lakdar and Chris Fleming when 'Help! My House is Haunted' visited The Skirrid Inn.

The former pub has recently changed hands, with Tracey and Nigel Turner taking over and converting it into a museum.

Mr Ghai met Mrs Turner while filming Celebrity Help! My House is Haunted.

“Tracey and Nigel have only recently purchased the pub and since renovations have started they've experienced a plethora of paranormal activity,” he said.

“They have now turned the former pub into a museum and would like me to investigate to showcase how paranormally active it is.

“I'm hoping to record some clear EVP’s (disembodied voices) and potentially identify who or what is haunting the property.

“It has such a rich past and I feel that there could be a number of spirits residing there.”

Mr Ghai will be live-streaming the solo ghost hunt on his Facebook page from 8pm to 9pm, before carrying on the stream from 9.30pm until midnight for Facebook supporters.