It later became a hospital and treated thousands of

A woman exploring a derelict hospital was left stunned after a photo she took in the spooky building appeared to show the ghostly figure of a doctor.

Jamie-Leigh Brown, 21, was walking the abandoned corridors of St Thomas's Hospital in Stockport - which closed down in 2004 - when she took the chilling picture.

She did not check the photo at the time as she and her and friends were too concerned with the footsteps they were hearing above them - despite the hospital having no usable staircases.

Scroll down for video

Jamie-Leigh Brown was left stunned after a photo she took at the spooky St Thomas's Hospital in Stockport appeared to show the ghostly figure of a doctor

The group became spooked and fled the building after only a few minutes and it was not until later that Ms Brown discovered the haunting figure lurking in the background of the shot.

She told The Sun: 'It freaked me out. It's standing in a lift shaft. It's really creepy to think my friend was just heading towards the area where the ghost was.

'We'd only gone into the workhouse for a laugh and to look around. We kept hearing noises above us like shuffling and footsteps but hadn't actually seen anything.'

St Thomas's, formerly known as Shaw Heath Hospital, closed down more than a decade ago after treating thousands of psychiatric patients over the years.

The derelict building was once a Victorian workhouse known as The Grubber and three years ago it featured in an episode of paranormal investigation show Most Haunted.

Other sightings of ghoulish figures have been made at the site, including a 'radiant woman dressed as a nurse or a nun' according to paranormaldatabase.com - a website that lists reports of ghosts.

The ghost is not clear in the image but it looks like a person wearing a medical gown and mask

The original workhouse is thought to have been built in the 1841 to accommodate up to 690 inmates.

In 1894, the British Medical Journal set up a 'commission' to investigate conditions in provincial workhouses and their infirmaries.

On their visit to Stockport, the commission found that due to a trade depression, inmates in the workhouse were 'packed like sardines in a tin'.

The management of the hospital appeared to be 'completely without plan or method' and the female wards were 'comfortless and barnlike'. Many wards were so crowded as to present a serious danger in the case of fire.

A new infirmary was built in response in 1905 - and the workhouse later became the Shaw Heath Hospital, before becoming St Thomas's.

Since its 2004 closure, the site has now been acquired by Stockport College as part of their campus expansion.

The main workhouse building and some other blocks are planned to be retained and refurbished.

It is estimated around 25,000 people passed through the building's doors when it was brutal Victorian workhouse.