FROM speaking to the dead to drawing unsettled spirits from the home, John Colenutt takes it in his stride as psychic medium. As neither a firm believer nor complete cynic, Ashley Barnard met him to delve into the world on the other side.

When we met at the home he shares with partner Jackie Phillips in Brough with St Giles, near Catterick Garrison, nothing jumped out to suggest that John, 51, had a wealth of ghost-hunting equipment or exorcism kits – because of course he doesn’t.

Not that I had really expected him too, but I did wonder if there would be a crystal ball set up on the dining room table.

But he told me: “I never use tarot cards or crystal balls, I just listen and interpret what I hear and see in my mind.

“I once bought a set of the tarot cards from a shop, but there was nothing special about them – I don’t think they tell you anything at all.”

John knew from an early age that he was different to his peers.

When he was 12 he realised he could predict who was on the other end of the telephone when it rang, and started a game of announcing who it would be calling or at the door to his surprised parents.

“They knew there was something a bit different about me,” said John, who has now been working as a medium for around 20 years.

His childhood ability progressed, and he started hearing voices, and someone calling his name.

“It sounds mad, but I could hear these different voices trying to speak to me and soon I started seeing people too.

“I remember seeing someone at the end of my bed one night, I was scared and ran to my parents, who obviously tried to convince me that no one was there and I was safe.

“But that got me interested, and I started reading books about the paranormal when I was about 14. I would spend hours in the library, trying to understand what was happening to me – it was quite scary to start with but the more I got into it the more I became hooked on finding out more.”

When John, 51, who grew up in Cornwall and Hampshire, reached his 20s his interest developed into a passion.

“I had gone to the cemetery in Hampshire where my grandparents were buried and as I was standing at their graves I felt a breeze go straight through me and I could feel them both with me. I felt like that was a sign to do something with my psychic ability.”

John said he now sees people from all walks of life, including sceptics who want to prove him wrong – but he says he always manages to surprise them and often makes believers of them.

“Sometimes I get quite an extreme reaction – some people want to argue with me, and say I must have got the information from Facebook or something, but I never research the person before I give a reading.”

John said he always hears something for each person he reads, and often there is more than one family member or loved one coming forward to speak – which can sometimes get confusing if they are speaking all at once.

He said: “I often have to interpret what I am being told – for instance on one occasion I thought the lady speaking to me was saying her favourite flower was a rose because she was showing me that image, but when I told the person I was reading she laughed and said her family member’s name was Rose.

“But I don’t do readings for people who tell me they want to speak to a specific person – I do not promise to guarantee that person will come through so I don’t want to get people’s hopes up.”

Living close to the largest military garrison in Europe, John does a lot of readings for families of service personnel who have died in conflict.

“Quite often it will be a very intense reading for me – in the past I have had the taste of blood in my mouth and get a very vivid picture of what happened when the soldier died,” he said.

“But I am always sensitive to the people I am doing the reading for and will not tell them anything that will cause them any more distress – I will always ask how much they want to know.”

John also dispels certain myths that people hold about inviting a medium into their home.

“People have asked me if there will be ghosts left inside their house, but I do not invite them in, I am just listening to what they have to say.”

He also explained the other side of his “job” as a psychic – to encourage unwanted spirits from people’s homes.

He said: “It is the more complicated side of what I do, and something even Jackie is not completely convinced about.

“I call on a spirit guide who helps me to encourage the spirit to cross over to the other side – but I can only do it if the spirit is causing a problem, often spirits can remain and cause no problems at all.”

Very briefly at the end of our conversation, I persuade John to give me a short reading as my curiosity got the better of me.

There were some things he said that meant nothing, such as the name Elsie, but I admit the hairs on the back of my neck stood up when he asked me straight away who James was – my boyfriend’s name.

While I am reserving judgement for now it did make me want to know more, as he told me a few too many details about people close to me - and I left the meeting with a slight case of goosebumps. To contact John, search Facebook for John-Psychic Medium or call 07763-169418.