TWO pairs of Georgian candlesticks that vanished mysteriously from a castle have been returned - possibly by resident ghosts.

The owners of Ripley Castle have returned £8,500 to a specialist insurer after the candlesticks - believed to be lost - reappeared mysteriously.

The silver candlesticks were last seen on Christmas Eve, 2014, and reported stolen to insurers Ecclesiastical in May 2016.

Sir Thomas Ingilby, owner of the castle, said: “I remember saying several times that I thought the candlesticks would reappear eventually and even held off on reporting the theft to Ecclesiastical.

"But after we searched the castle thoroughly and, with no sign of them, we had to make the claim.”

The candlesticks were recently found in the castle’s strongroom on a shelf in a bright red Christmas carrier bag, next to the replacement pair bought with the insurance money.

Sir Thomas said: “Three of us had searched the strong room from top to bottom and I had searched it on three separate occasions myself before making the claim, so to find them sitting there in such plain view was quite astounding.”

Sir Thomas said the castle had a history of poltergeist activity, and he had known previous incidents of missing cutlery reappearing, also blamed on Henry and Mary Ingilby, who died of leukaemia in the castle in the late 19th century when they were aged seven and five.

David Bonehill, claims director for Ecclesiastical, said: “We are trusted to protect some of the country’s most irreplaceable treasures and are delighted to hear that the candlesticks have been safely returned.

“This is certainly the first time a customer has reimbursed us for items they suspect were returned by a ghost.”