A touch of cosmic energies helped one community get to the bottom of a recurring problem in their village.

Throwleigh village pond had been lacking in water — despite the wettest July for years, there was only a small puddle in the bottom.

After some debate, villagers decided to call in dowser John Christian to see if he could pinpoint the problem.

Mr Christian, who lives in South Zeal, has been dowsing since he moved from Hertfordshire in 1977.

He said: 'The pond had been stagnant for some months and they wanted me to find out where the problem was coming from.

'I used my rod, which found the blockage, and that was that.'

Throwleigh resident Julian Wisniewski, who took part in the pond clean-out, said he was impressed with how quickly Mr Christian found the blockage: 'John was able to show where the water supply to the pond ran, and where it was blocked.

'It was a simple matter to clear the blockage and soon water started flowing in again and despite a very dry August and September, the pond was full in a couple of days.'

The clean-out of the pond takes place once a year.

Mr Christian said that after dowsing for some time he realised he could also use the procedure for healing.

He said: 'The first time I ever healed was when I got called out to look at a horse which had been badly kicked.

'The vets had all but given up — the horse was in a lot of pain.

'I checked around it to find the problem area, which turned out to be not the place they suspected.

'After I found it, the owner asked me if I could help heal the horse — I had never done it before, but I thought I might as well give it a go.

'I went to the horse and stood over it, I wasn't quite sure what I would do, so I wished it to be well, to be healthy — what happened next transformed my life.

'The horse pricked its ears forwards, it put its tail down and walked, perfectly fine, to the stable door.'

Mr Christian said healing the horse encouraged him to move on to healing.

'It's about connecting with the universe and the earth, it's not magic.

'Now I do all sorts of different healing to try and help people in some way.'

Mr Christian will be giving a talk on dowsing and healing on Thursday, November 19 at 7.30pm at Church House in South Tawton.

Entry costs £4 on the door and tea and coffee will be available.