'It's a pigeon' - What you think the 'face of a ghost' might be in Preston's abandoned Mount Street Hospital

Leonie Thomas caught the image of what she believes may be a 'ghostly face' after taking pictures of the abandoned Mount Street Hospital in the city centre on Monday (May 25).

The 33-year-old said her curiosity had been piqued after she had read about the history of the Grade II listed building, which has stood derelict for nearly two decades.

After learning about some of the rumours of strange activity in the area, Leonie decided to visit the building with her son and friend while on a walk.

Leonie said: "We didn't go inside the grounds, but we stayed outside looking at the building for about 10 minutes with my friend commenting how creepy the tower looked."

"So we took a close up picture of it, but saw absolutely nothing unusual at the time."

However, after she posted the pictures of Facebook, she was flooded with comments suggesting that someone, or 'something', appeared to be peering out of the cracked panes of the bell tower.

"There was nothing in the window when we were looking up and we looked at the tower for a good few minutes, saying how creepy it looks."

Leonie, who has an interest in ghosts and the paranormal, remains open-minded and has suggested a number of 'rational' explanations for the 'ghostly face'.

"I'm not sure what it is, but some people are saying it's a pigeon and others are saying broken glass," Leonie said.

Readers have now taken to social media to share what they think the 'ghostly face' might be.

One person who claims they used to work at the hospital said: "When I worked here my husband picked me up and said who brought a child to work last night.

"He saw one in the exact same place as this ."

Another reader said: "Looks like a child's face."

One person who agreed they could see a face commented: "I definitely can see it, I love things like this."

Others, on the other hand, believe the creepy image may just be a pigeon or an optical illusion caused by broken glass.

One person who was skeptical said: "I see a pigeon in a broken window."

Another person agreed saying: "Looks like a pigeon to me."

"All I can make out is the shape of a pigeon," said another.

However, one person disagreed, arguing the 'ghostly face' is too big to be a pigeon.

They said: "Pigeons are not that big. It's definitely a face. Creepy."

Another reader who claims they used to work in the building added: "I used to work here. When on nights it was eerie."

What do you think Leonie took a picture of that day? Is it just a pigeon in a broken window, or did she capture the image of a ghost?

Leonie added: "Lots of people don't believe in this sort of stuff and I totally respect that. I'm not saying it is a ghost or a spirit but I do believe in that kind of stuff.

"But there could also be a much more logical explanation. I suppose it's down to personal belief."