A misshapen dwarf-like fairy with a conical hat was once seen running across a road in Ewell, according to a newly unearthed account.

Jeremy Harte, curator of Bourne Hall Museum, stumbled across the extraordinary report in a book on the lost archives of the Fairy Investigation Society.

Mr Harte asked: "Do unseen fairies haunt Ewell? A new account has been published which suggests that this may be the case.

"Christmas Eve, 1953, was a clear, moonlit night. Three friends were walking down the road in Ewell, buttoned up against the cold, when one of them, Mr. G, saw a misshapen figure run across the road in front of them.

"It was short - about five feet tall - with a sharp-featured, half-seen face. The dwarf, or whatever it was, wore bottle-green clothing and a conical hat edged with fur, and was wearing knee boots.

"‘Did you see that?’ said Mr. G to Mr. C, who was walking beside him, and they compared notes: they had observed exactly the same thing, ending when the dwarf vanished about two feet short of the far side of the road.

"But Mr. F, who had been right beside them, didn’t see a thing.

"This is just one out of hundreds of reports collected by the Fairy Investigation Society, an organisation which worked with very little publicity for many years collecting true stories of fairy encounters.

"Its archives have only just reached the light of day."

Jeremy Harte, curator of Bourne Hall Museum

Seeing Fairies: From the Lost Archives of the Fairy Investigation Society, Authentic Reports of Fairies in Modern Times was published last summer.

Its author Marjorie T Johnson became honorary secretary of the society in 1950 and collected accounts of fairies and angelic beings from members of the public.

It is not the only supernatural sighting in Ewell.

Just three years ago, in February 2012, a family travelling home by taxi along the Ewell bypass were amazed to see a featureless figure leap 15 feet over a bank.

The figure was likened to the legendary Spring Heeled Jack.

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More than 60 years after the fairy sighting in Ewell, Bourne Hall is set to celebrate flower fairies and garden goblins at its forthcoming festival Herald of Spring.

In the run-up to the festival, children are being asked to design their own fairy or goblin for an art competition. Entries will be displayed on the day.

Mr Harte said: "We’re looking for imaginative contributions. But if someone would like to sketch a fairy from the life, that would be fine too."

Hand your picture in at Bourne Hall by Monday, March 9, to be in with a chance of winning entry to Hobbledown adventure park for a day.

Herald of Spring; Bourne Hall, Spring Street, Ewell; Saturday, March 14; 9am to 5pm; free; call 020 8393 9571; email dbrooks@epsom-ewell.gov.uk or visit www.espom-ewell.gov.uk