Hello, is that the council ghostbuster? Taxpayers' money spent on tenant's exorcism

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When Sabrina Fallon heard banging noises coming from her attic, she was understandably concerned and called the police.

Officers found no sign of a break-in, however, and joked that it might have been a ghost.

Unfortunately, Mrs Fallon didn't see the funny side.

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Spooked: Sabrina Fallon outside her previously haunted house in County Durham

She claims the banging was followed by a series of strange happenings, including doors slamming shut, the ghost of a little girl appearing on the landing and, bizarrely, even her own dressing gown floating down the stairs.

And the council's solution to her months of torment? To pay for an exorcism, of course!

Now, through the power of prayer, holy water and protective salt circles, Mrs Fallon says she and her family have finally been left in peace.

Mrs Fallon, 23, moved into the three-bedroom council house in Peterlee, County Durham, with her husband Martin and two children in June last year.

They first contacted "ghostbuster" Suzanne Hadwin in December.

"She sent her spiritual guide to the house," Mrs Fallon said yesterday. "Me being me, I was waiting for a knock at the door.

"We got a call back later that night from Suzanne who said there was a male in the house. She said he was really angry and that he was after my youngest daughter Amy who is only 16 months old.

"It was terrifying. Suzanne didn't even know that I had two children, let alone their names. She knew everything - even the colour of the walls in our home. She said this male figure wanted to possess my daughter's body in order to relive his life. His name was Peter and he was a poltergeist.

Ghosthunter Suzanne Hadwin was paid by Easington District council to perform an exorcism at the Fallon family home in Peterlee

"After that the banging got worse. He was also trying to make physical contact and on one occasion I felt a hand touch my shoulder."

Later that month they decided enough was enough and called in Miss Hadwin herself.

"When I saw the girl at the top of the stairs I thought I must have been seeing things," said Mrs Fallon.

"I tried to put it to the back of my mind but kept hearing this banging coming from the loft and whispering.

"I called the police one night suspecting that it may be thieves but they couldn't find anything and suggested it might be ghosts. It was then that I called Suzanne for help."

Mrs Fallon, whose 24-year- old husband quit his job as a lorry driver to protect his wife and children, was later told by a council worker of a murder at the property 50 years ago.

"I couldn't believe it," she said. "They said a man had killed his wife on the landing using a fire poker. It seems he then hanged himself."

Miss Hadwin offered to carry out an exorcism for £120.

Unable to afford the fee Mrs Fallon, whose elder daughter Shannon is nine, went to the council, which agreed to pay half.

The exorcism was carried out on December 27 and the Fallons say they have since been left in peace.

Miss Hadwin, 35, of Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, said: "I realised there was a very bad spirit in the house and there had been a murder there.

"Sabrina was absolutely terrified. She told the council that she didn't want to stay in the house and that's when they agreed to help pay."

She added: "I got rid of the poltergeist by laying salt circles in the house as areas of protection for the family.

"I then used the power of prayer, sprinkled holy water and called in some angels to take the spirit to the place he needed to be taken."

A spokesman for Easington District Council said it agreed to pay half of the exorcism because the family were "extremely distressed" and the alternative was £40-per-night emergency accommodation.

She added that the council is committed to preventing homelessness by a number of measures, "albeit none of them quite as unusual as this".

 

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