A TEAM of paranormal investigators believe they've exclusively captured the first ever images of a Forest apparition emerging from a former slaughterhouse and butchers shop.

The footage, filmed on infrared cameras, was taken by Forest Paranormal Investigations (FPI) during a night-time stake out at the central Forest pub.

It follows a 22-year-long 'ghost' diary of sightings compiled by the current landlady of the pub who has chosen not to be identified.

Adam Heath, leader of the four-strong FPI team, takes up the story.

"We were called to the pub by the landlady herself. We went in about a month ago after several other investigations.

"It was a weird night, very strange. There was a lot going on straight away, noises, bangings.

"As the night continued, I just saw this white thing floating past. At first I thought I was over-tired, maybe a bit disorientated, but it floated by twice, making me jump – and I don't jump very often, so it made the others jump as well.

"All I can say was that it was floating and it was white and it was definitely there.

"Later that night we went back to see if we'd caught anything on camera. We always have three cameras on location and after every investigation we painstakingly go through the material.

"Amazingly we found we'd caught something. When we slowed it down, a face just literally appeared in the background. It was almost as if she was turning and deliberately showing herself to us, to say I am here."

After more visits to the pub to try and 'debunk' the findings, the largely Forest born FPI team of Adam, Paula Meek, Tim Gunter and Vicki Thornton, revisited the footage.

"The camera was panning across photos on the pub walls," says Adam. "A face came up that appeared familiar. We asked who it was and the landlady said: 'It's the former landlady of the pub in the 1890s. It's Margaret Gunter'."

After working to match the faces, the team looked into Margaret's life. And that's when things went from strange to stranger.

It turns out Margaret ran the pub and associated slaughterhouse and butchers shop at the turn of the century. Her face appeared by the wall where the slaughterhouse once was.

The team then discovered she was the great great aunt of one of their own, Tim Gunter – something they had no idea of before. She died suddenly at Lydney Picture House in 1934.

•Footage showing the Forest apparition and the investigation at the pub is being uploaded to the FPI's website http://www.forestparanormal.co.uk/index_files/forestghost.htm">www.forestparanormal.co.uk/index_files/forestghost.htm

It will also be uploaded on their YouTube and Facebook pages directly after this article has appeared.

Paranormal expert, C J Roma, previously of TV's 'Most Haunted' and Discovery Channel's 'Ghost Hunters' has seen the footage and has committed himself to working with FPI in the Forest in the coming months.