A RANDY Roman ghost is sending shivers down the spine of a mum-of-three in her "haunted" home.

Linda Morris is convinced the strange goings on in her North Yorkshire home are the work of a saucy spectre.

Now she and her husband, Darren, want the ghoul flushed out and are appealing for a ghostbuster to come forward and help.

"It's stroked my knee and my hair several times. It's really creepy," says Linda, from Norton.

"Once I was in the kitchen watching TV and I felt this hand stroking my leg.

"At first I thought it was Darren feeling romantic, but when I turned around to tell him off, there was no one there. My husband was in the other room.

"We've been told the house is built on top of a Roman burial site so I'm convinced it's something to do with that."

The couple, who have three children, seven-year-old Charlotte, Chloe, five, and two-year-old Brandon, said the inexplicable events began soon after they moved in three years ago.

"I saw a shadow of a man in the kitchen when I first moved in," said Darren.

"We've been watching TV a few times and the channels just start to change themselves.

"We'll often hear banging noises upstairs and at one point the doorbell was ringing so often by itself I had to remove it."

Perhaps the freakiest thing to happen involved Annabella, one of the children's toy dolls.

"I was in the bedroom and the doll just seemed to move all by itself and collapse on to the floor," said Darren.

Such bizarre events might make anyone else flee in fear, but Linda thinks she may be protected by her father who passed away seven years ago.

"I sometimes get the feeling he's here as well, looking after me," she said.

"He always protected me and I think he's looking out for me.

"There have been times when the ghost has been doing something really annoying. I've asked him to stop and he does."

A spokeswoman from MAP archaeological consultants, of Malton, said the site of the couple's home was indeed thought to have been a Roman burial site.

"According to local records a Roman skeleton was found there in 1948," she said.

"Romans buried their dead at the side of roads and this site is right next to an ancient highway."

One of York's most famous ghost stories is that told by Harry Martindale in 1954, who claimed he saw a Roman legion march through the cellar wall of the Treasurer's House.

Have you experienced a ghost? If so contact the Evening Press on 01904 653051.

Updated: 10:06 Saturday, August 31, 2002