A mother-of-two has been left terrified and unable to sleep after a ghostly child appeared in a picture she took of her son playing in the woods.

Laura Watson claims the small child can be seen with his hand on her son’s shoulder in the creepy image.

The family had been enjoying a picnic at the Plessey Woods Park last weekend when Laura took some pictures of her daughter Charlotte Hill, 15, and son Byrin Watson, nine, climbing a tree with their cousin Jack, 16.

However, Laura was left terrified when she later discovered the face of another child had appeared behind Byrin, despite no one else being near them in the park at the time.

While originally sceptical of anything to do with ghosts and the paranormal, Laura says the picture has changed her mind as the boy is so clear.

She now wants to return to the woods as the figure has sparked her interest in ghosts but admits she hopes the apparition doesn't follow them home.