I visited a 500-year-old 'haunted' Black Country pub with a paranormal expert - a 'spirit' told me to 'be quiet'

The Ye Olde Leathern Bottel is locally famed for its housing of all sorts of spirits from across the the five centuries it has spent serving generations of locals their favourite beer at the end of a long day's work.

But we weren't going to go at it alone, we needed professional help, so we enlisted a local paranormal advisor to show us the ropes and hopefully help us make contact with some of the ghostly figures that roam the rooms inside the famous Wednesbury pub. 

While most kids spend their summer holidays soaking up the sun at the park training to be the next David Beckham, 50-year-old Russ Bevin had different ideas. 

Later stamped with the nickname 'Cellar Dweller' for his Macabre-style interests, he spent his youth locking himself in cellars trying to communicate with spirits.

And before learning his trade in sales later down the line, he had his own office in the town which was 'sort of like a private investigator's office', he told us.

While his wife, Alison, 52, was not overly keen on his special talent, he didn't put his ghost-hunting gloves down for good and started running events across the country with his companies Wednesbury Paranormal and The Haunted Exchange, where he's dabbled in all-sorts of spiritual jobs including expelling nasty spirits from people's homes, helping people make contact with lost love-ones and teaching people how to communicate with the 'other side'. 

All of this brings us nicely onto his latest job, showing us around the Ye Olde Leathern Bottel, a Wednesbury boozer that has been around since the 1500s.

Firmly placed on the outside of the building, a sign states that the pub was established in 1510, and is said to be the oldest pub in the town.

Steeped in history, the four walls could certainly keep you up at night if they could tell you about everything that has happened between them and the former coach house (apparently) has a photograph on the wall that reveals it's use as a waterhole since at least 1887. 

It's a dream location for Russ, but having grown up in the area he also made sure to mention how much the pub means to its locals, how brilliant the staff are and how tasty the food is for those that need a bite and beer. 

Speaking exclusively to the Express & star, Russ, said: "This type of work is a bit different to what you see on television, it's not about looking for 'ghosts' as they say, it's about searching for energy and that can come in many forms.