I’ve never believed in ghosts, but a spooky apparition I witnessed this weekend had me thinking again about the spirit world.

I’d agreed to do a mate a favour by mowing the grass, cutting the hedges and pulling up weeds at a posh new house he was renting out for the first time on Monday.

Turning up early, on a particularly windswept Saturday, I found the property with every door and window wide open but not a soul in sight. I assumed an estate agent must have turned up to give the place a good airing before the new tenant moved in.

I spent a good hour pulling up the worst of the weeds but then heard banging inside the flashy four-bedroomed home so ventured through the open patio to investigate.

All the doors were wedged open against the gusty wind which was whistling in through the windows and I noticed several religious effigies or perhaps good luck symbols placed around each of the rooms.

Calling out loudly ‘Hello, anyone at home?’ I was still checking downstairs when there was a rap at the front door and I took a delivery from a courier. I’d just finished my sweep of the ground floor when I heard a howl from the front of the house and, pulling the heavy door open again, realised another white van man was depositing a large box on the doorstep which he’d dropped on his foot.

However, this commotion was nothing compared to the massive crash which greeted me the second I was back inside.

Gingerly creeping upstairs in the direction of the smashing sound, I went through each bedroom, dressing area, en-suite bathroom and even the airing cupboard. There were several more good luck effigies but absolutely no sign of what had created such a hullaballoo.

“I stared for several seconds in disbelief and even rubbed my eyes...”

Having checked everywhere I turned to go back down and was suddenly faced by the figure of a dark-faced, open-mouthed miniature Asian lady who materialised from nowhere. I stared for several seconds in disbelief and even rubbed my eyes before deciding this was indeed a real woman, though where she sprang from and why she hadn’t responded to my calls, I had no idea.

I plucked up the courage to speak to the ghoulish figure but she remained mute, shook her arms, and scurried down the stairs and out the back of the house. Peering out of the window I could see she had walked to the bottom of the garden and was now stood against the fence.

Still a little shaken myself, I certainly didn’t want to frighten this lady any further, if that is what I’d done, but I felt I had to try to speak to her again and explain.

I spoke to her as gently as possible and she finally pulled out a mobile, called someone and spoke to them in Mandarin, before handing me the phone.

I was still none the wiser who she was but at least I’d now spoken to whoever was renting the house and she seemed to realise I was just there to sort out the garden.

I still don’t believe in ghosts but for a second or two this spooky experience did have me questioning whether I’d received a visitor from the beyond.