"I know what I saw," says woman visited by Barford Bridge ghost

Julia Hartley, 60, was driving from Great Oakley to Kettering to collect her daughter Kimberley from the cinema in the early 2000s when she saw the ghost.

Julia said: "I was driving from Great Oakley to Kettering to pick her up and I was driving towards the bridge when this white figure appeared."

She said it was all white, like something out of Scooby Doo with a white outline.

Julia continued and said: "He was running and ran into the side of the bridge."

Julia's story follows the news that Barford Bridge between Corby and Kettering was listed as one of the UK's Spookiest streets by contact lens company Feel Good Contacts.

Feel Good Contacts said: "We’ve all heard spooky stories about the paranormal, and maybe you yourself have seen something that made you wonder; was that really a ghost, or do I just need an updated eye test?"

However, Julia said: "Rubbish, because my eyes were perfectly fine back then."

She said it was not foggy or rainy that night and added: "I question if [ghosts] exist but I know what I saw.

"I never saw it again."

Julia said she was not even that aware of the local legend of a ghost of a monk that haunts the bridge, so she was not looking out for it.

She also said she is in two minds as to whether ghosts exist.

Julia said: "They have to exist, it was something. What makes me question it is if they do exist then why aren't we all seeing them all the time? Is it just a few which haven't been put to rest?"

Despite her wondering, Julia has since had other experiences that she thinks might be due to ghosts.

Julia used to live in a modern house in Kettering when she first had her family, but she said she always felt scared their and her daughter, who was only six at the time, said she always found the house scary.

Julia said: "I was scared to go upstairs."

She said she used to put her dalmatian on a lead to go upstairs with her during the day because she always had a bad feeling.

Julia said one morning she woke up and saw a light and there was never an explanation for it.

"After three years I said 'we have got to move'," said Julia.

That is not the only spooky place Julia has lived, she bought a 17th century pub in Worcestershire in 2008 with her ex-partner and described several strange incidents.

Julia said: "There was one time where I set up all the tables for breakfast and locked the doors and went to bed.

"Nobody had access to the pub overnight."

In the morning, Julia said: "One of the tables was covering in salt or sugar, completely covered."

She said another time, she and a chef were stood on opposite sides of a heavy door that led to the kitchen, which could swing both ways.

Julia said: "I swear on my life the door opened on its own.

"It just opened."

Julia has since left the pub and now lives in Devon, but remains convinced there was might have been ghosts involved in the different unexplained incidents.

She is convinced that what she saw at Barford Bridge was the ghost of the monk.

What do you think? Have you seen the ghost? Email us at [email protected]