Nothing spooked the no-nonsense traffic policeman Philip Clay - until the night he saw ghostly horsemen. At many points in his police career, Philip Clay needed nerves of steel. Like the stomach-turning day he was one of the first officers on the scene of the discovery of a Moors Murders victim. But the 18-stone policeman prided himself on not being afraid of anything - until he saw solid, clear-as-day horse riders in 17th century outfits on the lonely A640. To make sure, he turned his car around and drove past them twice more. And when one of the swashbucklers raised his hand as if to acknowledge him, he finally lost his nerve. "I thought `bugger this!' and drove away." The strange encounter happened more than 30 years ago - but it still troubles Mr Clay, 74, of Saddleworth, to this day.

Afterwards, he tried to try to find out if it was just fancy dress revellers or participants in some sort of night-time charity walk he'd seen. He even phoned the Examiner, claiming an anonymous motorist had reported the eerie sighting. But a news item at the time, in autumn 1968, threw no new light on it.

View: Full Article | Source: ic Huddersfield

With the information available it's hard to discount Mr Clay's own idea that they were 'just fancy dress revellers or participants in some sort of night-time charity walk he'd seen'.

Nothing he says about them is particularly 'ghostly' apart from their anachronistic clothing - which is more readily explainable as a few people dressed up in 17th century garb for whatever reason. I admit that the idea of somebody dressing up as a cavalier and roaming horseback around the countryside at night is a bit silly, but some people are a bit silly.

It seems a bit much to immediately assume you've seen a ghost just because you can't readily explain what somebody is doing.

It's possible he spotted guys from The Sealed Knot.

Maybe they were coming back from a meet, or maybe they were just out being wallies?