A family claims the spirit of an evil highwayman is haunting their house and they’re too terrified to live there.

Thetford mother Lucy had always hoped that her young son Ben would be able to move into her parents’ 19th century cottage in the Norfolk town. 

But a petrified Lucy and Ben have been frightened to death by what they say is a lingering, thick atmosphere present at the property – with both convinced that evil spirits lurk inside its four walls.

Ben said: “I couldn’t live there now, I couldn’t go to sleep at night feeling secure, I couldn’t go to sleep full stop!”. 

Protective mum Lucy agrees, saying that the presence has frightened them both.

She said: “I can’t go there because I am scared to death… I was aware that there was something not right with the house. 

“The atmosphere in the cottage is thick.” 

In the first episode of a brand-new sixth series of Help! My House is Haunted (available to stream on discovery+ now), Lucy and Ben turn to expert paranormal investigators Jayne Harris, Barri Ghai and Ian Lawman, in a desperate final attempt to rid the cottage of its unnerving atmosphere. 

“It would be more than heart-breaking to sell it, this is our last resort,” said Ben.

In the show experts attempt to communicate with the ghostly spirit of a notorious highwayman and say cameras captured the moment one of the investigator’s necklace chain is pulled from behind by a suspected spirit. The paranormal investigators explain they they too feel uneasy being near the property.

One of the experts Jayne said: “I’ve just got a sudden wave of sickness as soon as I saw it.”

“I don’t want to get out the car,” agreed psychic medium Ian.

Historian Neil Storey also looked into the case for the show, providing context for the local area.

He revealed that the position of the cottage on the road from Norwich to London once made it a regular hotspot for highwaymen. 

Neil said: “Rich pickings around here for highwaymen. One of the most infamous highwaymen used to ply these roads around here. His name was Jeremiah Pratt.” 

Jeremiah Pratt was also known as “Mad Tom” and Neil says he was “violent, would stop at nothing, he would rob anybody and take anything that he desired.” 

He said: “He was evil and he was hanged for his crimes in 1746. He was always very proud that he had robbed more horses than Dick Turpin.” 

The team uses a number of methods to investigate – including special recordings, mirrors and a device called a spirit box.

You can see the conclusions of the investigations on the new series of Help! My House is Haunted available to stream now on discovery+.