Ghosthunters scoop 'Oscar' for website

A WILTSHIRE ghosthunt team has won an award for its website at the paranormal "Oscars".

The Paranormal 5, based at Warminster, took the prize for the best website at the second annual Spiritual Connextions Acknowledgement Awards held in Portsmouth last weekend.

Public votes also put them in the top four nominations in the category of "most popular audio/visual content" for their eight-part weekly TV series, The Paranormal 5, which concluded on ITV West last month.

Their website, which came top in the "most popular and informative website" category, is designed and edited by the team themselves.

It was all a big surprise for Wayne Punter, Samantha Rees, Ray Jorden, Andrew Carter and their spirit medium Paul Derrick, who say the accolades raise their profile and credibility.

Wayne told me: "We went to the awards to make contacts and meet people and, although we were nominated for quite a few awards, we weren't expecting to make it to the top in any of them." Praise for their TV show was particularly significant for them.

"We were a small regional programme competing against big national or even international programmes, like Most Haunted and Haunted House, and we came in the top four," said Wayne.

"We were absolutely knocked out. We are a lot more popular than we realised." The team will know in November if a second series of The Paranormal 5 will be made, and they hope the awards will increase the chances.

But they plan to make their own TV programme about their next round of investigations, and a book deal is in the offing on their past work in the West Country.

Next year, they will be going to Mexico to join forces with a paranormal investigation team there in a high-profile media project.

■ Visit the Paranormal 5 website at www.uk5paranormal.com