STAFF at the Soham Lodge Motel have been playing host to a number of uninvited guests. They hear them whispering in the corridors, find them moving items around the rooms and even rattling the cages around the bar. But when they started throwing furniture

STAFF at the Soham Lodge Motel have been playing host to a number of uninvited guests.

They hear them whispering in the corridors, find them moving items around the rooms and even rattling the cages around the bar.

But when they started throwing furniture across the motel, manager Dawn Spence decided enough was enough and called time on the visitors.

On Sunday, she summoned medium Jessica Penberth to uncover some home truths about the spirits who have checked into her motel.

After holding a séance, Jessica discovered it was haunted by three men, including an 18-year-old and two older men, one who had committed suicide there and another regular guest, who fell ill at the motel in December and died in hospital.

"I was really shocked," said Dawn. "I still can't believe it. We knew we had one spirit here. We called him Fred, but he has been getting more and more agitated at any time of the day and night."

In the last six months, guests have complained of feeling uncomfortable or not sleeping well in Room 11. One even refused to stay there.

Many of the 15 staff have also heard and seen ghostly goings on at the motel.

They watched in disbelief as a clock flew off the wall, dropping its battery on a table, have heard the bar cage rattle on numerous occasions and found stationery left in rooms had been moved to other rooms.

On one occasion a hot tap was suddenly turned on full, soaking Dawn and the kitchen floor.

A cleaner was spooked when she heard someone following her along a corridor and chatting but turned to discover no-one was there.

But nothing prepared them for what former microbiologist and now full-time medium, Jessica, from Fordham Road, Soham would discover.

During the séance Dawn complained of feeling unwell, her arms felt heavy and she was very cold.

"As Jessica asked the ghost 'if you want to talk to me give me a sign', I felt something touch my neck and flick my ear," said Dawn. "The table started rocking.

"I felt so sad I wanted to cry. I felt so choked up."

Jessica believes she contacted the spirit of the guest who fell ill at the motel just after last Christmas. He gave her a message that Dawn plans to pass onto his family.

"He told me something only they would know," said Dawn. "I insisted on that so they wouldn't think I was some sort of crackpot."

"I sensed three presences there," said Jessica, "three very different energies. There was a young man I believe died in a road accident on the bypass in the last five years who is trying to contact his mum; a gentle man who needed a bit of direction and an angry man who kept moving and needs more investigation.

"They are very much like the living. They need to be ready to go. You can't command anybody to leave."

Now Jessica plans to return to the motel to carry out a night vigil in an attempt to help the two remaining spirits move on.