Bassetlaw ghost hunters hit back at comments made by comedian and actor Ricky Gervais

Retford Ghost Hunters is led by a team of experienced paranormal investigators who aim to prove the theory of ghost and spirit existence.

Rachel Parsons, managing director of Retford Ghost Hunters, has made a statement in a video posted to the group’s social media pages addressing comments Ricky Gervais made on his new Netflix stand-up special, SuperNature.

The controversial star, who rose to fame by writing and starring in sitcoms such as The Office and Derek, suggested that there were “no such thing as ghosts” and that ghost hunters “have thousands and thousands of hours of footage and they’ve never seen a *expletive* ghost, not one”.

The comedian goes on to mock ghost hunting teams and suggested that if wildlife programmes were the same, nobody would watch them.

Rachel, aged 50, has been a paranormal investigator for over 20 years. She said: “I find the world of the unknown so appealing and I have done so from being a child.

"I have also seen spirits and have had some alarming experiences since childhood”.

Rachel said since becoming a paranormal investigator, she has never felt so free and happy.

She also admitted that she and her team may “never find the answers but we sure do have fun trying”.

In a statement, she said: “I’ve been asked a lot about Ricky Gervais’ comments on his new Netflix show, SuperNature, regarding ghost hunters.

"I’d like to make it clear that I love Ricky Gervais and he is one of my favourite comedians, and it’s obvious that his comments are in jest and not to be taken seriously because it’s nothing more than a joke

“People making jokes and poking fun at what we do is not something new to us, and everyone is more than entitled to their opinion and it certainly won’t stop us.

“A serious side to Ricky’s comments is that we do find evidence of the supernatural regularly and have absolutely no doubt in our minds that ghosts are real, and we can continuously provide evidence of this.

"Whilst these comments are not something we’re offended by; it is something we felt we needed to address to assure people that what we are more than a gimmick and are always working hard to find evidence of the paranormal”.