THE chances are you will never have heard of Adrian Pengelly yet this softly spoken man with a ponytail and healing hands is something else.

He has lived in Kidderminster for some time but it took this year's Lady Dudley Cup race - the Blue Riband of point-to-pointing - to turn the spotlight on him.

A report on the race mentioned that the winner, a horse called Distinctive, had been virtually saved from the knacker's yard by Adrian's extraordinary powers.

Formerly a very good horse, Distinctive had "gone wrong" and failed to respond to a whole series of treatments before Adrian got to it.

By doing nothing more than running his hands over the animal, he restored it to excellent health, good enough to win the top point-to-point race in the country.

Many "alternative" specialists in the horse world are likened to human osteopaths, working mainly by manipulation and chiefly on the back.

But Adrian comes from a different direction and is proof, if anything can be, that wet Wednesdays in Rugby have their moments.

For it was there, 10 years ago, having nothing to do and bored by the weather, he visited a psychic fair, only out of curiosity.

"I really went to have my fortune read, just for a laugh," he said. "But one of the mystics there asked if I knew I was a very powerful healer.

"I couldn't believe it. I thought it was a joke.

"After all, I was working at the time as an archaeological artist. I'd got no interest in healing or anything like it. I was just an ordinary bloke.

"To be honest, I thought it was a load of old rubbish."

But it got him thinking and back home, Adrian, still highly sceptical, began "treating" a dog that was having difficulty walking.

To his amazement, within a week the animal was better.

As a follow-up, he treated an elderly relative suffering from arthritis, who again showed a remarkable rate of recovery.

He cannot fully explain his powers, but it appears that for some reason he is capable of creating a terrific field of energy. Human electricity, if you like.

He said: "Clocks have been known to go haywire if I get near them and I can totally mess up computers."

During treatments, his hands act like two electrical conductors.

As well as running his hands over the skin during a course of treatment, he can use one hand as a scanner, able to discover the seat of pain.

The archaeology has long been given up and Adrian now travels all over Britain, Europe and even America, healing animals.