A FORMER police chief who once solved crimes in Ascot and Windsor is now investigating ghostly events from the latter’s past.

Former East Berkshire police chief Brian Langston retired as assistant chief constable for Thames Valley Police in 2010.

He now writes on true crime, mysteries and the paranormal from his home in Southern France, where he lives with his wife Jenny and an army of adopted cats.

He has returned to his ‘old patch’ in his new book True Ghosts and Ghouls of Windsor and Eton, due to be published by Halsgrove Publishing in April.

Spanning the centuries up to the present day, his supernatural guide book includes many ghost stories making their first appearance in print.

Mr Langston, who writes for a number of publications focusing on historic murders, mysteries and the paranormal, has drawn on his former detective skills to carry out in depth ‘case reviews’ of numerous hauntings and ghostly sightings in Windsor and Eton.

He subjects the witness accounts to clinical security - analysing and presenting all the available evidence for the readers to form their own judgement.

Stories include which famous Eton schoolboy killed a bully with witchcraft and one old Etonian who was hanged at Tyburn and still haunts a famous Eton inn.

Mr Langston has also uncovered the story of the Windsor ‘vampire’ who killed and tried to eat a child in Georgian Windsor.

He said: “I love a good mystery – that’s one of the reasons I joined the police.

“I have come across more than 200 fascinating cases during the research for the book, many of which defy rational explanation.

“It has been a strange departure to move from investigating crime to hunting ghosts, although there are some similarities in the skills required.

“A good detective has an open and enquiring mind, is logical and meticulous in their approach and is challenging without being judgemental- that’s not a bad checklist for the paranormal investigator too.

“There are however some significant differences. These are very cold cases!

“More often than not the witnesses are no longer around, the scene has changed beyond recognition or disappeared completely and there is no other corroboration.

“That’s what makes it so compelling. It’s a constant search for proof.”

For more information about True Ghosts and Ghouls of Windsor and Eton and Mr Langston’s stories, go to www.facebook.com/GhostsofWindsor or www.brianlangston.com.