Believing his grandfather had just days to live, Chris Leadbetter took this photograph of him as a vicar prayed at his hospital bedside.
Bob Large, 76, had been told an ongoing illness was terminal and was being paid last visits by his family at the Countess of Chester Hospital in Cheshire.
But Leadbetter was left shocked later that day when he noticed a ghostly figure in the background of the photograph, over his grandfather's shoulder.
Chris Leadbetter took this photograph of his ill grandfather Bob Large as a vicar prayed at his side
He said: "When I saw it the hairs just stood up on me. I was so freaked out. I saw the picture late at night so I went and woke the rest of my family up straight away. Everyone in the family was shocked. They couldn't believe it."
But when the 20-year-old showed the image to hospital staff members, they were unperturbed, replying: “Oh her. Lots of patients see her at the end of their beds,” with some describing the apparition as the “long-haired blonde girl in a white gown.”
What's more, Leadbetter was left incredulous when his sick grandfather defied the expectations of all his doctors and suddenly made a miraculous recovery.
He said: "My granddad is still alive now and has actually been released from hospital, despite what the doctors said.
Large believes the figure in the photograph behind him is his guardian angel
"He finds the picture quite comforting. He thinks that someone is looking over him."
Large said: "The picture is of my guardian angel. I've been in that hospital, on the same ward so many times.
"The vicar always comes in and says prayers and then goes and I always feel much better. Every time I feel like there is a presence in the room. I've just got a feeling that whoever it is, is watching over me.
“This is the first time I've actually seen her but I've had the feeling she's been there a while.
"It's the strangest thing. I can't explain it. I'll be lying there feeling very ill. Then I'll get the feeling of the presence. Then I'll suddenly feel much better and I can sit up.
Since the image was taken, Large (pictured here with his grandson Chris Leadbetter) has recovered and left hospital
"The face looks very familiar to me, but I don't think it's anyone I know. I think I just recognise the presence.
"Gosh, how he caught it on camera I don't know. I can't understand it. It's amazing. "She'll continue to watch over me - I'm sure of it."
Leadbetter said: "I took the picture the day before I went on holiday because we were told to expect the worst.
"I didn't notice anything until about a week ago when I needed to go through my phone and delete some pictures.
"The strange thing is there is nothing between my granddad, who is sat on the corner of the bed, and the women in the picture - no glass, or windows or anything.
"A few people suggested it looked like a reflection but there is literally nothing for it to reflect off. "
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He added: "My gran told the ward manager she needed to speak to him about something and the second she said she had a picture of a ghost he described it perfectly.
"He says it'd not the first time the ghost had been seen. One patient was screaming in the night because it was at the end of her bed."
Staff at the 1829 hospital building, which was formerly known as the County Lunatic Asylum, Cheshire, have reported a number of poltergeist and ghost-related incidences, including sightings of a mysterious “woman in black”.
According to legend, she appeared on the wards ahead of a patient’s death back in the 1800s.
The asylum accepted pauper patients from workhouses and poor houses as well as those from the criminal justice system.
A number of patients died whilst staying in the building, which included padded cells, and some staff have suggested their ghosts are still stalking the building.
