Witness Report taken by Mick Mclaren:"I want to share an experience I had back in 1984 when I was 16/17 yrs old. At the time I worked at the motorway services and used to be picked up by a works minibus at The Crown in Horwich at 6am each day. If I was late, (we had no mobile phones then to let the driver know I was running late) the minibus would have gone which meant I would have to walk/run to work. The quickest way was down the steps at the top of Crown Lane and across Bobs Brew fields to Squirrel Lane then through the farmyard down a track to the services.
One morning I was late and it was still dark and I got to the bottom of the steps and there was a huge black dog there. I noticed it's eyes first, clearly (like shining amber) despite it being dark and surrounded by trees, and I stopped, feeling a bit nervous to go past it. There was no light shining on the dog to make it's eyes stand out like this. I tried to shoo it away, but it just stood there. When I went closer to try and go past it, it turned and walked off in the direction I was going. Because I'd been late for work a few times (due to late night socialising!) I was anxious not to be late and followed the dog. Across one field and through a gap then onto a dirt track up to the bridge to Squirrel Lane. The dog kept in front of me the whole time. In the short time I had to look at the ground after crossing the bridge and up a slope to Squirrel Lane, the dog had disappeared.
I didn't think much of it at the time and just thought it must have belonged to the farm, but there was a niggling feeling inside that I would have seen it on Squirrel Lane had it lived at the farm. Squirrel Lane has hedgerows on either side, and there was nowhere the dog could go other than up or down the Lane and I would have seen it. Also, the farm gates were usually locked and the only way over was a climb over style which a dog couldn't do.
I saw this dog about 4 or 5 times in all, always at the same place and always lost sight of it at the same place too. I used to talk to it, and tried to stroke it, but it seemed to glide ahead and was always just out of reach. It never made a sound, not even it's feet in the mud even when I was sloshing and squidging in the mud, no panting even. I almost felt peaceful with this dog, as if it was escorting me, like it was a friend keeping me safe.
Many years later I was reading a book at the paranormal, and black dogs were mentioned. So, whether I was accompanied by a ghostly black dog, or whether it was actually real I do not know. If it was real I'm sure I would have heard some sound coming from it, or it would have sniffed me, or let me stroke it"