IAN ADDICOAT - PRESIDENT

Ian is described as a “down to earth professional” who treats the paranormal with both a passion and a refreshing sense of rationalism. He is level headed and calm in any given situation and prides himself on his no nonsense approach.

Ian is a very experienced full time paranormal researcher who has taken part in investigations at some of the most haunted locations in the country, with some of the other leading “ghost hunters” in the UK. He has developed quite a reputation amongst fellow professionals. Ian has also contributed to a number of television and radio programmes in the UK, USA, AUSTRALIA and GERMANY (these include: MOST HAUNTED, NOTORIOUS CASTLES, THE DISCOVERY CHANNEL, CARLTON, LONDON WEEKEND TELEVISION, GMTV, ANIMAL X, BBC, etc), often described as “a natural for television”. Ian also does a lot of work, when called upon by the media, to comment on paranormal events.

Ian has had an almost lifelong interest in ghosts and the paranormal and possesses an extraordinary knowledge of the subject, with some very enlightened theories. He has written several books on the subject and is a partner in the companies Haunted Cornwall and Haunting Experiences, who organise Ghost Walks and famed Ghost Nights. Overall, he likes to class himself as a “sceptic” but only in the true definition of the word – questioning all occurrences to an empirical level. However, he is not a complete disbeliever but does try to be as professional as possible. As a result he tends to become very intolerant towards other researchers and particularly television companies who try to sensationalise and fabricate evidence and has been an outspoken critic of certain well-known TV programmes.

Unlike many other well-known presidents of such organisations, Ian takes a very active role in investigations and other areas and is also editor of the newsletter.
Ian is also a very strong family man and spends most of his spare time with his wife and 2 children in Cornwall. His other interests include: music, reading and football.

Ian can be contacted on

RON KIRBY - VICE-PRESIDENT

As self stated – Ron wears “3 hats”: first and foremost his dowser hat, then his mediums hat and his healing hat.

He is registered as a professional dowser with the British Society of Dowsers and as such covers several aspects in the field of dowsing (e.g. locating public utilities and water supplies; archaeological dowsing; dowsing for lost items, animals and missing persons; healing (he is also a registered spiritual healer); dowsing for natural energy lines, ley lines and dangerous electricity; etc.
His speciality fields include:

1. Land and property: healing of the often-dangerous geopathic and negative stresses that can be created.

2. Psychic dowsing: locating and tracking the causes of paranormal activity and healing the affected areas when it is necessary.

In addition to being a psychic dowser, Ron is also a working medium (not personal clairvoyant readings though!!). His preferred field of work is primarily as above and in what he prefers to call “soul rescue”, as well as healing land or property where the owners / occupiers believe that they have a haunting that is giving them cause for concern as well as advising on psychic protection and the healing of affected areas. He is also a registered practitioner healer with the Duchy Association of Healers, affiliated to the British Alliance of Healing Associations.

Ron has been the castle dowser at Pengersick Castle for many years and during this period has taken part in filming for TV on several occasions. This has included Australian, German, American and British TV (e.g. Most Haunted, Notorious castles; Haunted Britain, Ghost Detectives, etc); principally focusing on the paranormal.
He also runs courses on the tuition of dowsing techniques and skills and has performed talks and individual instruction. He is known for his dry Yorkshire wit and for his unique skills in teaching the art of dowsing.

Ron can be contacted at

TONY WATSON - EQUIPMENT COORDINATOR / PRESS OFFICER

Tony is married with 4 children and 3 grandchildren. His interests are studying the paranormal, ghosts and UFO’s – having experienced both personally. He possesses a very convincing video of an unidentified flying object in the sky over his house. His other interests include football (Leeds United), darts and boxing and he is also a big fan of heavy rock music.

Tony is someone who believes in the paranormal but certainly does not accredit unexplained phenomena, immediately to a paranormal explanation. He will always seek a rational clarification first. He often sits back and keeps a low profile on investigations and as a result is usually one of the most reliable sources of confirmation for occurrences.

As equipment coordinator, Tony ensures that the right equipment is maintained and available at any investigation and also takes a very active role in advising on other areas of the organisation. He is one of three remaining founding members and has now taken part in an abundance of investigations, making him one of P.R.O.’s most experienced investigators. He is a trusted, reliable and valued member of the team.

WILL BRUNNING - OVERALL LOCATION COORDINATOR and for CORNWALL

Will is an Endoscopy Technician who works at a hospital here in Cornwall; this involves working with camera and fiberoptic equipment along with video processing equipment. He therefore has a pretty good knowledge of all things technical, which he transfers efficiently to P.R.O. investigations. Also with a medical background he is usually the official First Aid person during an investigation. He also has excellent people skills and has proved to be invaluable at coordinating with locations in preparation for investigations. A familiar face at Haunted Cornwall nights, Will is also a partner in Haunting Experiences where his skills are an invaluable asset in both arranging and guiding events and he has also been involved in working with TV companies (such as Carlton, Animal X, etc) along with appearing in many newspaper and magazine articles regarding paranormal investigations around the UK.

Will considers himself to be open-minded but questioning, but saying that he is becoming more swayed to the fact there is "something out there" due to events that have taken place during P.R.O. investigations. He has always had an enthusiastic interest in the paranormal since being a child and loves the challenge of running head long into the dark looking for answers - usually coming up with more than he bargained for: screaming out "cobwebs" or "spiders". Since his time with P.R.O. he has developed his skills with dowsing and would one day like to follow ‘Ron Kirby’s’ footsteps in this field as he considers dowsing a fascinating subject and on many occasions he has shocked even himself with how accurate his findings have been.
Other interests include: Horror Movies, Computing, Reading, Drawing, Music

STUART ANDREWS - LOCATION COORDINATOR for
SOMERSET / VIDEO ANALYST

Stuart has spent his whole life trying to grow up in Somerset and pretty much all of it with a growing interest in all things paranormal. Previously a member of several other paranormal organisations, Stuart is incredibly experienced at investigating haunted locations. He hopes to assist the P.R.O. in expansion into other areas and to fulfil his ambition to become a 'Proper Ghost Hunter'. Actively investigating for the last 7 years, he has also arranged and led independent vigils in Somerset, Devon and Cornwall. As P.R.O.'s Video Analyst a large amount of time is devoted to reviewing and cataloguing any light anomalies captured at P.R.O. investigations. Often seen at investigations running around with up to three camcorders, trying to maximise the chance of capturing something undisputable on tape!

Stuart makes up the trio that is Haunting Experiences and has carried out media work with local press and television, a national promotional campaign and Animal X. Having started as a firm believer, he has swung a little more to the other side; and tries his best to approach potential activity with a sceptical attitude believing both sides of the argument need to be fully explored. An approach he considers to be relatively rare in the field of paranormal research, as most of both 'believers' and 'total sceptics' have already set their conclusions in stone.

His other interests include "the great outdoors", history, photography and driving, preferably, fast cars (handy really having to travel three countries to some investigations). He says: "If possible (there is always a possibility) all of the above should be crammed into a camping weekend for the ultimate adventure".

CLIFFORD MITCHELL - ADMINISTRATION OFFICER

Clifford is a building surveyor by trade and such knowledge is invaluable to P.R.O. during the planning stage of investigations. Often strange occurrences, which may seem paranormal, can be explained by something directly related to the building itself. Clifford also uses his knowledge of managing building sites/ projects to help with his committee duties.

He is a keen dowser; often coming up with some incredible information and takes an active role during investigations, often finding out information which nobody present is aware of, only for it to be discovered later that the findings bear an uncanny relationship to historical fact. Nevertheless Clifford is always rational and logical in his approach to the paranormal and tries to find scientific explanations; before admitting that an occurrence is likely to be supernatural. He is aware that many peculiar happenings can be man-made or natural in origin but still remains a firm believer. Cliff’s hobbies include reading, history, architecture, drawing, fishing, computing and drinking beer!

As administration officer Cliff is an immensely important part of the committee and will often be the first port of call for information and communication. It is therefore useful that he has excellent communication and I.T. skills.

Rita is a chef by trade, though her cooking skills are now demonstrated in the cakes, which she brings to investigations.

Nana, as she is known by her two grandson's, also has a penchant for the less obvious "grandmother" interest's. Riding a Harley Davidson around Ayres Rock, Washing an Elephant in the jungles of India, Scuba diving on the Great Barrier Reef, and this year Tank Driving in Devon. Rita maintains, "To always have an ambition", is the best way to stay active. White water rafting in New Zealand is now on her list of things to do.

Rita has been interested in the Paranormal since childhood, perhaps triggered by her Grandmother taking her to the local Spiritualist Church.

She is a believer, and has experienced things on investigations, which has deepened her belief in all things paranormal. She has quickly become one of P.R.O.’s most loyal and liked investigators and rarely misses an investigation.

Her other interest's are reading, classical music, travelling, driving fast cars, "Her Scorpio Cosworth has been the fastest so far", and looking after her husband.!!!!

OTHER IMPORTANT MEMBERS

LIONEL FANTHORPE

We are profoundly honoured to have Lionel and Patricia Fanthorpe as members of P.R.O. Their experience in the field of paranormal research is invaluable and we thank them both for their help, friendship and past contributions!

Lionel is famed for a multitude of television appearances (e.g. Stranger than Fiction; The Real Nostradamus; Castles of Horror, Haunted Britain, etc) and for being the author of over 250 books. He is particularly remembered for his starring role on Fortean TV, on Channel 4. Lionel and Patricia are amongst the most renowned and highly regarded researchers in the field of the paranormal and this has led to Lionel being asked to be the president of both ASSAP and BUFORA

For more information about Lionel, visit - www.lionel-fanthorpe.com

RICHARD JONES

Richard is famed for his London Walks and is the author of the best selling books Walking Haunted London; Haunted Britain and Ireland; Myths and Legends of Britain and Ireland; Haunted Castles of Britain and Ireland; and Walking Dickensian London. 2004 will see the publication of his books Haunted Inns of Britain and Ireland and Haunted London. He has conducted on the spot research at over 2,000 haunted places and is well versed in paranormal history. He has appeared regularly on and acted as advisor for television throughout the world (e.g. The History Channel, The BBC Breakfast News, Haunted History, London Tonight, XY Factor, Haunted Hotels, etc). He features on the DVD of the Johnny Depp film From Hell providing an opinion on the identity of Jack the Ripper. He has also recently appeared on several Most Haunted Live programmes as a historian.

Well versed in the principles of “psychic phenomena” Richard has been entertaining worldwide audiences with his mind reading and séance show Hauntings: -An Outing with the Spirits since 1993. In August 2003 he recreated a Victorian séance for the Channel 4 documentary 10 Ways to Talk to The Dead. He also conducts an annual Halloween Ghost Walk that takes participants into the darker recesses of Haunted London.

Richard also hopes to attend investigations with us, subject to his very impressive workload.

For more information about Richard visit: www.haunted-britain.com