People across the North East were left spooked after a teenager found an "unusual" coffin near a Seaham church this week.

After a day out shopping, Kelly Richards was greeted with a shock that evening after her seventeen-year-old daughter informed her she had discovered a coffin in Dalton-le-Dale while walking with a friend on Monday (November 21).

Ms Richards said her daughter, Mia, and her friend, Kim, originally mistook the casket for a wooden bench after seeing it in the bushes but were left "freaked out" after getting a closer look.

To figure out what was going on, the 41-year-old mum set out to the coffin's resting place near St Andrews Church the next day, finding it and posting a video to social media for answers.

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Speaking on Mia's find and her follow-up investigation, she said: "She didn't tell us till 6pm in the evening, I was thinking she found treasure or something like that, [she] showed me the picture and there was a coffin.

"It was quite tucked away, and Mia was like 'oh, it's actually a coffin.'

"They were like 'let's get out of here.' They were a little bit freaked out.

"I was thinking this isn't right, there's a church 50 feet away with a graveyard there.

"I lifted it open and obviously there was nothing in [there], so I was just thinking why is it there, that's all we wanted to know."

After posting a video of the coffin online, many residents shared her sentiments and were equally baffled by its presence.

In one post, a spooked resident said: "No chance I would have opened it… absolutely none at all! I can’t run but I would’ve tried my best if I found that."

While there were others who saw the funny side, with one saying "It’s Dracula's, he put sunscreen on and had a walk about."

After Ms Richards' post gained traction, it was revealed the coffin was actually being used as a prop by an independent wrestling promotion.

To the relief of many, the casket was decorative and merely being used as part of a cinematic wrestling experience produced by Colliery Championship Wrestling (CCW).

Speaking on its appearance near the church, James Barrass, 36, a member of CCW, said residents had nothing to fear from the prop and that they had also received permission from the church to film on its grounds.

When talking about the reaction to the coffin and CCW, he said: "We're very heavy on storylines, we get people engaging with the stories and stuff like that.

"It was put there in a bush out of the road so we could keep going back to film.

"It wasn't the best of hiding places, it was basically so we could keep going back and do more filming with it to tell a bit more of a story.

"When we looked at it [Kelly's video], we were like 'someone's found it', we thought we stashed it really good, but you'll always find someone.

"It's not there for anyone to be alarmed or stressed, it's just a prop that was being used for some filming, that's all."

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He said CCW have been carrying out shows and engaging people with their online content for nearly 2 to 3 years, and began their promotion during the pandemic.

Explaining CCW's cinematics, he said they are all shot and edited on a Samsung S21, and are a big part of telling detailed stories to their fans.

He also stressed the coffin had not been dumped there, and after they are finished using it, the coffin will be dismantled and properly disposed of.

Mr Barrass said the promotion has worked with various charities over the years, such as the Salvation Army, and wants to continue to help their community.

Adding to this, he said they will be doing a Jack and the Beanstalk pantomime show to raise money for the Christmas Appeal this year.

He said: "It's not just only about wrestling, it's about making people feel a part of something."

The wrestling promotion, which has more than 4,000 followers on Facebook, will be hosting its show 'Survive to Thrive' this Saturday at Horden Comrades social club in Peterlee.

You can find a link to CCW's video which features the coffin here.

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