FUNDRAISERS spent the night locked up in the disused Victorian cells of a haunted police station at the weekend.

Youth workers got a taste of criminal life when community police sergeant Colin Askey locked them up in Loftus cells between 11pm and 7am to raise money for the Loftus Youth and Community Centre, in East Cleveland.

The workers are hoping their sponsored efforts will raise hundreds of pounds to go towards buying equipment for the club.

Before they were locked up, Sergeant Askey warned them about the phantom which floats around the police station by night. Nicola Greenwood, a youth worker at the club, said: "We did hear someone moving around while we were in the cells, but I hope it was just Sergeant Askey.

"He was very good to us while we were in the cells. We came prepared for it to be freezing but it wasn't as cold as we had anticipated.

"Hopefully our efforts will raise enough money to buy the equipment the kids need.