Spooky happenings have once again raised the spectre of a ghost at a haunted theatre.

The ghostly woman never says a word but her presence has been felt on several occasions at The Theatre Royal, Brighton.

Not only have there been sightings of the ghost but strange sounds and odd events have sent a chill down the spines of staff.

In one incident, freelance cameraman Barry Wood was given a scare when his camera equipment flipped on to the floor after he placed it firmly on a seat next to him.

The strange incident occurred as he filmed the dress rehearsal for the La Cage Aux Folles by the Brighton Theatre Group.

Mr Wood, from Saltdean, said: "I put my bag on a nearby seat. It contained batteries, spare lenses and microphones. It fitted snugly in the seat and the weight was enough to keep the seat down.

"Just as I was about to start filming the second act, there was a loud crash and the bag suddenly flew off the chair and the contents spilled out on to the floor in front of the seat next to it.

"The strange thing was that the seat stayed down and there was nobody near it at the time.

"It was as if somebody was saying "Take this off my chair, I am sitting here.

"When people in theatre asked what the crash was and I explained, they told me it was probably the ghost making her presence felt. "

Members of the audience have in recent weeks spotted a strange looking woman sitting in one of the boxes at the theatre.

It is thought to be the re-appearance of The Lady in Grey who has been stalking the theatre in New Road for more than a hundred years.

The apparition is believed to be that of Mrs Nye Chart who owned the theatre at the end of the last century and is credited with establishing it as one of the country's leading provincial theatres.

She has been seen as a wisp of smoke, walking through the theatre in full Victorian costume and appearing in the boxes watching over the theatre she once owned.

Two weeks ago, a child attending a matinee performance looked up and saw an elderly lady in the box.

The mystery member of the audience had disappeared by the interval.

The Lady in Grey has also been seen by actors sitting in the wings and by theatre staff late at night.

Former EastEnders actor Michael Cashman had his own ghostly experience at the the theatre.

When appearing in a play called Love, he decided to have a few quiet moments on stage at the end of the performance.

He said he heard the footsteps of someone walking towards him from nowhere. He called out but nobody was there.

Michael went on stage again at the same time the following night and the same thing happened.

He said: "I definitely felt a presence. I have played the theatre since but did not meet up with her again."

Actor Martin Jarvis is another actor to have seen the ghost. He said the woman, dressed in full Victorian costume, brushed past him at the end of a performance.

Sharon Whiting, who conducts the tours of the theatre said: "The ghost of Mrs Nye Chart has regularly been seen over the years.

"She is a very benign ghost with a friendly spirit. "Mrs Nye Chant loved this theatre and it is as if she is watching over us."