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Hospital worker who 'saw ghost' dealing with horrors of going viral after angry readers send his girlfriend hate mail

Readers wrongly thought his girlfriend was controlling after he spoke to a newspaper about the photo

Kashmira Gander
Tuesday 16 June 2015 09:48 BST
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A photo which Andrew Milburn claims shows a ghost walking the halls of Leeds General Infirmary
A photo which Andrew Milburn claims shows a ghost walking the halls of Leeds General Infirmary (Andrew Milburn)

A night worker at a hospital whose photo of a ghostly figure went viral is dealing with an altogether more terrifying situation, after his girlfriend received hate mail over the image.

Andrew Milburn, 21, from Cross Gates, Leeds, took a photo of a corridor at Leeds General Infirmary as a backdrop to a Snapchat message to his girlfriend, as he started a shift manning the emergency calls network.

The hospital worker was shocked when he noticed what appeared to be the figure of a woman in Victorian-style clothing walking ahead of him.

The photo has since made headlines as far afield as Australia, as fascinated readers consider whether it is proof of the paranormal.

Milburn insists the photo is real and says it has convinced him that ghosts exist.

“A lot of people have claimed this is fake, I don't blame them. I can promise that there's been no 'photoshop' or 'ghost apps' used.” he told The Independent.

“We've heard footsteps at work and not seen anything there, we've never thought much into it until now, it's definitely fair to say we are a little apprehensive on our night shifts.”

Andrew Milburn captured a shadowy figure as he took a photo of a corridor at Leeds General Infirmary

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But on top of having to look over his shoulder at work, Milburn is now also dealing with the modern horrors of becoming an internet celebrity.

Milburn has complained that reports of the photo have forced his girlfriend to delete her Facebook account after she received hate mail.

The Mirror Online reported that Milburn said: “My girlfriend asked me to prove I was at work so I sent her a picture as I walked to my office”.

But Milburn stresses that he did not say “prove”, and that the Snapchat was a simple “goodnight” message to his fiancée.

His girlfriend Michaela has since been bombarded by messages accusing her of being controlling for requiring proof Milburn was at work.

Meanwhile, the hospital worker has been accused of cheating by the public and urged to split up with his girlfriend, who is the mother of their two-year-old daughter and to whom he has been engaged since 2010.

“She's really upset! She was devastated that she'd been portrayed like this when it wasn't even anything to do with her. It's been shared as far as Perth now and even there people are calling her controlling and saying I need to get rid of her,” he said.

The Independent has contacted The Mirror regarding Milburn’s accusation, but has not yet received a reply.

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