It's past closing time and the last few of the regulars are being ejected from the Sun Inn in Saxilby. The band are packing up their equipment and the staff are cashing up.

But on this particular night the pub will not be empty. The Bassetlaw Ghost Research Group have just arrived and they are getting ready for a full night of ghost hunting.

Bassetlaw Ghost Research Group was established about six months ago by Dave Wharmby. The aim of the group is to collect conclusive evidence of the existence of ghosts. They are hoping to capture this proof either in the form of audio footage or better still on film.

Once they have gathered enough information they are also hoping to write a book about the ghostly goings on in Bassetlaw and the surrounding counties.

The group have got several more investigations planned in Lincolnshire in the coming months - these include visits to Lincoln Castle and the Theatre Royal.

The Sun Inn has one fairly famous ghostly inhabitant - Tom Otter. He is said to have murdered his wife on the day of their wedding and you can find the whole gory story of Tom Otter here >>

The team, which currently comprises 11 members has an impressive array of equipment which it uses to record paranormal activity. They use a digital camera to record the events of the evening. A laser thermometer is used to measure variations in temperature around the room. These variations are thought to be caused by the presence of spirits.

But not all their methods are so high-tech. A more basic way to test for the presence of spirits is to see whether objects have been moved. An object, such as a toy car is placed on a piece of paper and then an outline is drawn. The object is checked periodically throughout the night to see whether it has been moved out of the lines.

Some of the members of the team are also clairvoyant - a skill which, contrary to popular belief can be developed. Once all the equipment is set up the group settle around a table to see if there are any spirits in the pub that are willing to communicate with them.

Now I don't know about you, but I've never been in a place where people were trying to communicate with spirits before. The results were quite startling. The table started to rock, gently at first and then with more force.

Dave and Kelvin (another clairvoyant member of the group) spoke to the spirits that were causing the table to move and established a system of communication whereby the table was to be moved in one direction for yes and the other for no. Using this system they were able to question the spirits about who they were and whether they were willing to show themselves to us.

Throughout the night there were numerous strange noises around the pub. We had with us one of the bar staff who assured us that the sounds we were hearing were not ones that she had ever heard before.

As well as these sounds our other senses were put to the test. There was a strange, putrid smell for a few moments in one part of the pub. Temperature changes were quite apparent too, as were small breezes, as if someone was walking past you.

At one stage the group joined hands in a circle and while they were standing there felt their wrists being gripped as if by cold fingers and their arms being raised. This was a first for all the members of the group, and something that none of them could thoroughly explain.

Towards the end of the night the team gathered around the table again and spoke to more of the spirits. A number of spirits passed through the table and one agreed to give further evidence of his presence. Moments later a door banged. A coincidence surely... But it is harder to explain away when you consider that when the spirit was asked to show itself again, the door was rattled once more.

Was that the work of a spirit? It's hard to say, but the door was heavy and there were no draughts coming through it. Furthermore, it had not moved in all the hours that we had been there.

Dave is optimistic that the group has captured images of orbs - these are thought to balls of energy associated with the spirits, and are the first stages of a manifestation, or appearance.

During the night we spent at the pub, we didn't find Tom Otter, but according to the Bassetlaw Ghost research group there were numerous other spirits in the building. These include one by the name of Edward Long and a whole group of RAF men who were based in Lincolnshire during the Second World War.

So are there ghosts at the Sun Inn? It's hard to say, but there is one thing that you can be sure of - the Bassetlaw Ghost Research Group will continue the hunt.