Why these Yorkshire roads have been named the top 10 most haunted in Britain

Two blood-chilling Yorkshire roads have been named in a list of the most haunted routes in the country.

Stories of gruesome deaths, haunting spectres and a 'terrifying' hairy creature have lingered on certain Yorkshire roads for many years.

Haunted roads in Yorkshire

The B1249 between Driffield and Staxton Hill in the East Riding appears in 24/7 Vehicle Rescue's top 10 most haunted roads.

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The haunted roads in YorkshireThe haunted roads in Yorkshire
The haunted roads in Yorkshire

The B1249 entered paranormal folklore for its association with the 'werewolf of the Wolds' which has terrified passing drivers.

Real wolves roamed the woodlands of the East Riding up until the 15th century, when they were hunted to extinction - yet the legend of their presence persists.

One werewolf report from the 1960s, and documented by author Charles Christian, describes how a lorry driver was left terrified when a red-eyed hairy creature tried to smash its way through his windscreen as he drove along the remote road.

Then in August 2016 motorist Jemma Waller, 24, claimed to have seen a monster which looked ‘like a big dog, ­probably bigger than my car, but it had a human face’ in the nearby village of Halsham.

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-> Halloween: 10 of Yorkshire's most haunted buildingsThe ghost children of the Stocksbridge Bypass

In Sheffield, the Stocksbridge bypass already has the unwanted nickname of the 'killer road' thanks to its high rate of fatal accidents.

During the building of the road in the late 1980s, two security guards claimed to have seen a group of children dancing beneath a pylon in the early hours of the morning.

Drivers have reported seeing a monk staring blankly over the bleak valley.

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Car breakdown experts at leading UK recovery firm 24|7 Vehicle Rescue have combed through the archives of paranormal sightings to compile this list.

And spokesman Ranjen Gohri says: “Britain is a land steeped in superstition, myth and legend.

“So it’s no surprise to learn that there are thousands of strange and unexplained sightings on our roads, with many reports coming from isolated highways that cut through barren stretches of moor and mountain.

“Breaking down by the side of the road is clearly never an enjoyable thing.

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“But we imagine the situation is made even worse when you’re seeing things through your windscreen, or rear view mirror, that really shouldn’t be there!”

Other famous haunted roads across the UK

Greater Manchester: The A6 at Stockport, near Mersey Square.

For years the A6, which runs between Manchester and Buxton, has been the haunt for a phantom female motorcycling hitchhiker, who thumbs a lift before vanishing into thin air.

Eyewitness Harold Smith recently recalled his run-in from the early 1990s, saying, ‘As I came down the long hill, I saw a figure on the left-hand pavement. She was slim with dark, straight shoulder-length hair, wearing a short jacket and trousers and holding a helmet. As I approached, she walked to the kerb and stuck her thumb out. People don’t usually thumb lifts from motorcyclists. When I stopped in the lay-by and looked back over my shoulder, I couldn’t see her any more. I waited, revved the engine, but gave up and rode home. The whole thing was very strange.’

Cheshire: The M6 between Crewe and Knutsford.

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According to Highways England, there were 11 fatalities on the M6 between 2010 and 2015 alone, as well as some 1,100 separate accidents.

So with all that negative energy swirling above the cat’s eyes, Is it any wonder, then, that this portion of the M6 is becoming a hotbed paranormal activity?

Kent: A229 at Blue Bell Hill.

The ghost of a young bride has been terrifying motorists - and baffling police - on this stretch of road between Maidstone and Chatham since 1974.

The legend began when 35-year-old bricklayer Maurice Goodenough ran frantically into Rochester Police Station claiming he’s just knocked down a young woman in her mid twenties near Blue Bell Hill. He told cops, ‘The girl’s just walked out in front of me from the edge of the road. My car hit her with one hell of a bang.’ Yet police and tracker dogs found no trace of any victim. The same thing happened again in 1992 when 54-year-old coach driver Ian Sharpe experienced a similar thing.

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At the time PC Roger Ginn reported, ‘Once we were satisfied there was no sign of an accident, no damage to his car, and particularly in view of where it had occurred, we just had to write it off as another sighting of the Blue Bell Hill ghost.’

Surrey: A3 at Burpham

In December 2002 Surrey Police investigated reports of a car seen swerving off the A3 near Burpham. They eventually found a car in a ditch containing the remains of a driver – but the motorist had perished some five months previously, leading to speculation the sighting had been a ghostly re-enactment of the crash which killed him. Sergeant Russ Greenhouse, of Surrey Police, said, ‘The car was discovered as a result of a report from members of the public who thought they saw a car's headlights veering off the road. The officers could not identify that collision but they had the presence of mind to search on foot.’

Northumberland: The A696 near Belsay.

In August 2015 Gateshead-based radio presenters Rob Davies and Chris Felton had a run-in with a ghost dressed in RAF uniform on this remote rural road. Rob explained, ‘We saw a man standing at the side of the road.

"We both actually jumped at first because we didn’t see him until very late.He was dressed in a beige colour from head to toe. He was sticking his arm out for a lift, but we could not stop in time due to being at 60mph. We turned around and I started filming on my iPhone as it seemed a bit odd.

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"We couldn't remember how far back he was, but we saw him again and slowed. He was dressed in what I can only describe as RAF gear and was holding something under his arm, which looked like a helmet or some kind of bag. It was only seconds and no other car had been past, but when we turned around he was gone.’

Scotland: The A75 ‘Kinmount Straight’.

Dubbed the ‘most haunted highway in Scotland’, the A75 is apparently home to ‘screaming hags, eyeless phantoms and a menagerie of unearthly creatures’, according to local paranormal investigator Kathleen Cronie. The most famous sighting came in 1962, as reported by Derek and Norman Ferguson.

They witnessed a chicken flying towards their windscreen before dematerialising, as well as giant cats and a furniture van that also disappeared into the ether.

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