Some of the most haunted sites in Sussex were investigated by a team of ghostbusters for a new TV series.

The programme makers have dubbed the spooky docusoap "The Blair Witch Project meets Scooby Doo".

Producers even managed to stumble upon a real-life Shaggy as they sought fearless recruits for the series.

Dan Ainsworth admits he resembles the cult cartoon character with his laid-back style, rambling sentences and unwashed hair.

However, when plunged into some of the most haunted, desolate sites in the UK, he found there was one crucial difference.

Shaggy - and his faithful hound Scooby Doo - would have scarpered at the first sign of danger.

Dan, 25, of Kingsway, Hove, refused to be spooked by reports of strange supernatural activity - though it was the village people of a Sussex village who disturbed him most.

Dan was one of six volunteers making up the Scream Team - a makeshift band of intrepid investigators travelling the country in a Winnebago.

Their TV task was to spend 50 nights in some of the UK's creepiest locations, probing reports of strange supernatural activity.

And they were thrown in at the deep end with an opening two nights camping in Clapham Woods, near Worthing.

Dan was intrigued by reports of UFO sightings, mysterious dog disappearances and satanic rituals in the woods.

He said: "I went exploring the woods at two in the morning, which was a bit creepy.

"But I thought the woods themselves were beautiful. It was the local people who were the biggest worry.

"We had a couple of run-ins with people who didn't want us to be there. I found the whole village of Clapham a bit freaky, to tell the truth."

The team also visited The Cricketers Arms pub in Black Lion Street, Brighton, which is said to be haunted by Jack the Ripper.

The Argus revealed in July how a previous lodger above the pub was black magic devotee and Ripper suspect Robert Donston Stephenson.

Dan was unimpressed by historian Ivor Edwards's claims that distances between the Ripper's victims corresponded to the layout of satanic symbols.

He said: "I could just as easily draw lines between all the stars in the galaxy and claim they spelt out Dan Ainsworth. It wouldn't mean anything."

Another visit was to a Wigan pub where a spate of unexplained fires beginning in the mid-Eighties were blamed on a painting of a crying boy.

Dan said: "We ended up burning the painting, which I didn't think was a good idea. If there was an evil spirit, we shouldn't have insulted it like that."

Some of the most disturbing mischief was of Dan's own making.

He fell out with his companions when he pretended to hang himself at Woodchester Mansion in Gloucestershire.

He said: "I thought it was a bit of a laugh but it didn't go down too well with the others.

"But generally we all got on really well and we are going to keep in touch. We were a mix of sceptics and believers, though I was on the fence."

Dan has never seen The Blair Witch Project, the cult horror film about three teenagers getting lost in haunted woods.

However, satellite channel LivingUK's offer to emulate Scooby Doo and his ghost-busting gang was too good to turn down.

He said: "People often say I'm like Shaggy. I suppose I'm a bit scatty like him. The whole project sounded like fun from the start.

"Even the driver didn't know where we were going to be sent each day."

Dan was originally approached to take part in the show when he was spotted at the Brighton Peace Festival in July.

He said: "I missed the first audition because I'm a bit useless when it comes to things like that.

"But when they phoned me again, I really wanted to take part. I'm very open-minded about things like this. I do believe there could be spirits out there."

Scream Team will be shown on LivingTV every Tuesday and Sunday at 9pm, starting next Tuesday.