Ritual to banish hanged man and a dead elephant

The Dao-Buddhist, who has designed areas of negative energy within the latest Big Brother house, was persuaded to visit the Hylton Road, Worcester, building - once the site of the city's tannery.

Within minutes of visiting the BBC studios to give a talk about the art, he began sweating and was unable to speak, due to eerie feelings in one small upstairs studio.

A concerned listener, who had worked in the former tannery, rang in during the live broadcast on Good Friday and told how a commercial traveller had hanged himself from the building's rafters in the 1940s, in the very same area.

He said an elephant had also been buried there 20 years earlier, after it died at a circus on Pitchcroft. Its body had been wheeled over to the tannery and its hide was strung up in the building.

The news confirmed Mr Darby's worst fears and he believes the man who perished may have been called Albert.

He returned with bells and incense to the workplace yesterday, to give a special blessing to remove the area of its bad energy.

"I walked into the room and my hairs stood on end from the negativity. It felt like I was wading through treacle," he said.

"It's like the eerie feeling you can sometimes get in church or old building, although its a hundred times stronger than that."

Feng shui, meaning "wind, water", is an ancient art originating from China, which uses and transforms personal and environmental energies and makes them positive.

In the BBC Hereford & Worcester studios he gave a blessing and advised uplights were needed to create a warm and positive feeling.

Radio producer Sophie Marsh said the studio could be quite eerie at night and she hoped the latest blessing would banish any ghouls.

A live webcam is being left in the "haunted" room throughout the weekend. Anyone wanting to try and spot the spook can log onto www.bbc.co.uk/worcester