Villagers fear a new celebrity television programme will bring hordes of ghost-hunters to their doorsteps.

Residents in Pluckley say they have been cursed by the village’s reputation and plagued by ghost-hunters keeping them up into the early hours.

They are so fed up that they have asked police to provide extra patrols on Halloween itself.

Now this year their nightmares have been made worse by the news that W television, part of UKTV, will be filming five days of Celebrity Haunted Hotel Live.

The show will see celebrities braving a Blair Witch-style programme and is being filmed in the old oasthouse at Elvey Farm Country Hotel.

The show will be hosted by Christine Lampard but Neighbourhood Watch co-ordinator Martin Chambers is concerned about the programme’s arrival.

Mr Chambers said: “We haven’t had any police incidents, but in the past we’ve had ghost-hunters coming to the village and scaring themselves witless in the woods or in the churchyard.

“It’s not just at Halloween either, it tends to continue in the weeks running up to and following on from the night, with people shouting and screaming at two o’clock in the morning.

“The concern is that on top of those we normally get, the television will describe how we’re the most haunted village in England which will bring in extra ghost-hunters.”

His concerns have been echoed by parish councillors, and chairman Chris Housman said the parish council tries to dampen some of the publicity surrounding the village’s haunted status.

Mr Housman said: “We do ask the police to maintain a presence at Halloween, and it’s on my list of things to do this week.

“The hotel is tucked away, and the television company has brought in some of its own security staff, but if it features Pluckley then it might encourage more people to turn up.

“Everyone knows the reputation the village has, but we are just worried of the effect it has upon our residents’ lives.

“There is nothing we can do to change that reputation.

“A lot of people come for a few drinks in the pub and have fun, and that is fine, but there is always an element that takes it too far.”

The programme is set to air between Thursday, October 27 and Monday, October 31.

UKTV has not responded to our requests for a comment.

In 1989 Pluckley had an entry in the Guinness Book of Records as the most haunted village in Britain with 12 ghosts.

Near the village is Dering Wood, popularly known as Screaming Wood, where tortured souls are said to reside, one of the most famous being 18th-century highwayman Robert Du Bois, who was killed with a sword while hiding in the hollow of a tree.

The village’s Black Horse pub is said to be the most haunted in Kent, with a number of spirits, including a child ghost, who move items around, sometimes causing them to go missing for days.

Another spooky resident is the Gypsy or Watercress Woman, who can be found on Pinnock Bridge and is said to have died either by setting herself on fire while smoking a pipe and drinking gin or drowning while collecting watercress.

A ghoulish coach and horses has reportedly been seen dashing through the village, while other believers claim to have seen a small white dog outside St Nicholas Church and heard a man being suffocated by a collapsing brick wall.