A team of top-notch ghosthunters will be roaming Devonport Naval Base over the weekend as a team of experts in paranormal activities look into reports of strange events in parts of the historic South Yard.

The Paranormal Research Investigators will be particularly keen to bring their skills to bear on the 18th century Ropemaker’s House and the Hangman’s Cell.

The Master Ropemaker’s House, a Grade II Listed historic building, was built in the late 18th century as part of the great South Yard Roper.

This facility was a major producer of rope and cordage for the whole of the Royal Navy until March 191, when all production ceased because of bomb damage.

The person in charge of the Roper lived in the Master Ropemaker’s House until World War II, at which point it was used as a residence for dockyard officials.

It has lain empty for four years, and is in an area designated as part of the site for the development of the Naval Base Visitor Centre.

Over a number of years the house has built up a reputation as one of the most haunted houses in Plymouth, with a number of former residents reporting paranormal activities – and guards patrolling the area have confirmed strange happenings at the house.

As part of a research programme at the Visitor’s Centre, a paranormal investigation has been arranged in conjunction with the Society of metaphysicians and Brunei University.

The team of 20, led by Carole Bromley, will include mediums, psychics, historical researchers, sceptics and the investigation researchers themselves who have many years experience of working with the unknown – including ghosts and poltergeists.

The team will bring plenty of sophisticated equipment, such as night-vision cameras, sound recorders, digital cameras, infrared equipment and digital laser thermometers, as well as more traditional gear such as dowsing rods.

They will also bring a considerable battery of human factors to bear, including intuition and psychic senses.

The team will be accompanied by Ian Addicoat, a professional and widely-respected scientific paranormal researcher, who will help the team focus on particular paranormal hot (or cold) spots.

The experiments will attempt to scientifically prove (or disprove) whether there are paranormal forces at work, and several séances are planned, with trigger objects set in various locations.

The Master Ropemaker’s House will be one of the locations investigated because of the wealth of paranormal reports it has sparked, and the Hangman’s Cell is another obvious target, as it is reputed to have been the execution chamber for more than 100 men.

Every sound, motion and other phenomena will be investigated and analysed, and a full report presented to the Naval Base, complete with photos and recordings.

Ian Addicoat, President of the Paranormal Research Organisation, said: “We’re very excited about the forthcoming visit to Devonport to carry out an investigation which is almost a first of its kind.

“With the history of the site and the alleged paranormal activity we should be ion for an interesting couple of days.

“If there are ghosts or strange occurrences we stand a great chance of finding out as we will be using scientific equipment, bringing our best investigators and spending two full nights in the active areas.”