Pub CCTV is set off by 'ghost' every night.. until the culprit is finally caught
A Banbridge pub was starting to believe the tradition it was haunted might just be true after all sorts of strange bumps in the night.
A little detective work at Tam Barney’s pub on Newry Street revealed that an uninvited guest was enjoying lock-in sessions every night.
But it turned out that it was not a beer-mad reveller that was living it up in the pub. The darting little shadow setting off the CCTV turned out to be a jet black kitten.
"We thought something very strange was going on in Tam Barney’s after closing time," the pub said.
"Bins were moving. Lunchboxes were mysteriously hitting the floor. Hand wash was ending up in the sink.
"And our CCTV alerts were going off in the middle of the night.
"Now, anyone who knows the bar will know there have been a few rumours and plenty of whisperings over the years that the place might be haunted.
"So when things started moving by themselves in the middle of the night, we were beginning to wonder if the stories might actually be true.
"Turns out our 'ghost' had four paws and a tail," the pub said in a social media post.
A tiny kitten had somehow got itself stranded inside the bar and had been hiding away for days, only making an appearance when everyone had gone home.
"And so began Operation Save Tam… because naturally the bar crowd had already named the kitten Tam."
"We tried everything to get our hands on a trap and get the wee thing safely caught. RSPCA, Cats Protection, vets, shops, the council… you name it, we probably phoned them."
Just when we thought we were getting nowhere, along came their "local cat hero" Susan McKeown.
"Anyone who knows Susan will know she’s a proper cat lady in the very best sense of the word! She came to our rescue, helped us get Tam safely caught and finally brought Operation Save Tam to a happy ending."
The pub added: "So there we have it…Tam Barney’s first lock-in. No drink bought. No rent paid. Caused absolute havoc after hours. And still managed to become a local celebrity.
"As for all those ghost stories…We can explain the things going bump in the night this time.
"A massive thank you to Susan for saving the day. And Tam… you’ve certainly made your entrance!"