EVERY Friday the 13th, many people spend large sums of money on good luck charms to fend off bad luck.

The proprietors of the Crown and Thistle pub in Roman Road, Darwen, however, spend just £1.80.

For the past five years, Stephen and Becky Prince have kept bad luck at bay by leaving a tankard of mild out for their resident ghost, Old Albert, every time the fateful day comes around.

Stephen said: "I was never really superstitious before we took on the Crown and Thistle.

"But one of the locals told us about Old Albert and when our dog started going crazy every Friday the 13th, I became convinced."

It would seem that £1.80 every Friday the 13th has been a sound investment for the Princes as they have now expanded their business empire to take in a second Darwen pub, the Grey Mare, in Elton Road.

Stephen added: "I don't know how much leaving a pint out for Albert has had an effect on our good luck, but I'm happy to keep providing him with his mild as long as things continue to go well for us."

Regulars believe Albert was a man who used to live nearby.

He lived on his own and would come in here every night.

He died in the early 1960s and strange things started happening soon after. But they stopped when a former landlord left out a pint on Friday 13th.

Fear of Friday the 13th (paraskevidekatriaphobia) affects many people, and indeed there could be some sense in this phobia.

A study featured in the British Medical Journal revealed that the risk of hospital admission as a result of a transport accident may be increased by as much as 52 percent on Friday the 13th.

Edmund King, executive director of the RAC Foundation, said: "Friday and in particular Friday evening is definitely the worst day of the week for fatalities and serious injuries on the road.

"But the figures from the Friday the 13th study may be more to do with human psychology than luck.

"People who believe in the superstition could be more anxious and drive less well making the likelihood of an accident more pronounced."

This view, that a person who is nervous is more likely to become a victim of a misfortune, is one agreed with by many academics.

Anne-Marie Gallagher, senior lecturer and expert in folklore at the University of Central Lancashire, said: "If you go into an exam nervous, you're not going to do as well as you would if you were relaxed.

"Both Friday and 13 carry pagan connotations and I believe that the Friday the 13th superstition may have been initiated by members of the Christian faith, who would regard paganism as taboo. My advice to people who are scared of this or any other day would be to go and get some help."