The 'ghost' of a woman appeared in a photograph of a dying grandad taken as the vicar read the elderly man his last rites at his hospital bedside.

Ailing Bob Large, 76, had been told by doctors that his bladder cancer and kidney failure were terminal and that he had a matter of days left to live.

During a hospital visit, his grandson, Chris Leadbetter, took what he thought would be a last picture of his grandad on his mobile phone.

However, the resulting snap appears to show something much spookier - a 'guardian angel' figure watching over the man's hospital bed in Chester, Cheshire.

And Bob is certain the spooky apparition is responsible for his turnaround.

Stunned, Chris showed the image to hospital staff, but they merely shrugged it off, saying: "Oh, her. Lots of patients see her at the end of their beds".

The manager of Ward 44, totally unprompted, then went on to describe the "long haired blonde girl in a white gown" captured in the photo.

And to make the scene even more out of the ordinary, Bob not only made a miraculous recovery but has since been released from hospital.

 

Chris, 20, said: "When I saw it the hairs just stood up on me. I was so freaked out. I saw the picture late at night so I went and woke the rest of my family up straight away.

"Everyone in the family was shocked. They couldn't believe it.

"My grandad is still alive now and has actually been released from hospital, despite what the doctors said.

"He finds the picture quite comforting. He thinks that someone is looking over him."

Chris went to visit Bob at the Countess Of Chester Hospital - built on the site of a Victorian lunatic asylum - thinking it would be his final chance to see him.

He said: "I took the picture the day before I went on holiday because we were told to expect the worst.

"I didn't notice anything until about a week ago when I needed to go through my phone and delete some pictures.

 

"The strange thing is there is nothing between my grandad, who is sat on the corner of the bed, and the women in the picture - no glass, or windows or anything.

"A few people suggested it looked like a reflection but there is literally nothing for it to reflect off. "

Chris said: "My gran told the ward manager she needed to speak to him about something and the second she said she had a picture of a ghost he described it perfectly.

"He says it's not the first time the ghost had been seen. One patient was screaming in the night because it was at the end of her bed."

Staff at the 1829 hospital building, which was formerly known as the County Lunatic Asylum, Cheshire, have reported a number of mysterious figures.

Numerous patients died at the former asylum, where they were chained up and restrained in strait-jackets while others were tied to their beds with belts.

Bob, who is now recovering at home, has told doctors and nurses that the figure in the photo is his guardian angel.

"The picture is of my guardian angel. I've been in that hospital, on the same ward so many times.

"The vicar always comes in and says prayers and then goes and I always feel much better. Every time I feel like there is a presence in the room.

"I've just got a feeling that whoever it is, is watching over me. This is the first time I've actually seen her but I've had the feeling she's been there a while.

"It's the strangest thing. I can't explain it. I'll be lying there feeling very ill. Then I'll get the feeling of the presence. Then I'll suddenly feel much better and I can sit up.

"The face looks very familiar to me, but I don't think it's anyone I know. I think I just recognise the presence.

"Gosh, how he caught it on camera I don't know. I can't understand it. It's amazing. She'll continue to watch over me - I'm sure of it."