SHE claims to have received telepathic messages from missing girl Madeleine McCann and experienced a premonition about the death of Princess Diana.

And now Maureen Scott, a professional medium and psychic healer, has published a book detailing the incidents and many other examples of what she says is her contact with the spirit world.

Maureen, 64, of Haydon Wick, says the book – West Country Medium: In the light of experience – aims to explain how mediums work and convert some cynics by detailing her own experiences.

“I just wanted to get my work out there,” she said.

“I just want to tell people really that this is not all there is.

“There are sceptics but I just wanted to put the word out and just to let people know there’s a spirit world and there’s something more to life than immediate reality.”

Maureen believes ‘The Gift’ – as she calls her psychic and healing ability – was handed down from her grandmother and she has had it from birth.

But she only realised she had it at about the age of 11 when she found she could predict occurrences, such as when someone would die, or the gender of a child before it was born.

Maureen, who moved to Swindon from Bristol in 1999, became a professional medium aged 22 and undertakes readings and other psychic work at her home.

In her book, she admits the spirits do not always tell people what they want to hear.

She also gives her views on many facets associated with spiritualism, including automatic writing, psychic art, tarot cards and ouija boards. Maureen, a grandmother-of-four, writes that she was ‘reduced to tears’ by visions of Madeleine McCann, who appeared to her soon after she went missing in Portugal about four years ago.

“For about a week I was aware of this small child standing near by bed, and naturally I began to ask questions about who she was,” she writes.

The name ‘Madeleine’ came through strongly to her, she says, and when she asked where she was the girl kept talking about Portugal and water, showing her a deep well and repeating the name of one particular person.

In relation to her premonition of Princess Diana’s death, Maureen says it came to her in a dream three months before the car crash.

She dreamed she was in a cinema with the princess, who said she wanted to go to the toilet but did not want to go alone. When she woke up, she says, the words ‘royalty’ and ‘Lady Di’ kept going through her head.

Maureen says she realised after the crash that it had been a premonition and that the princess was trying to say she was frightened of the paparazzi.

The book, ghost-written by former Advertiser sports editor Terry Woodhouse, was compiled from notes written by Maureen over several years, as well as stories related to him in interviews.

“I’m very pleased with the book,” said Maureen.

“I’m a good talker but I didn’t find it easy.

“Once he put the finished book back in my hand I did feel a bit emotional.

“It was a funny feeling, which it would be for somebody who has never written a book. And when I have shown people they have said ‘you should feel very proud of yourself’.”

The book – ISBN 978-1-907571-03-9 – costs £8.95 and is available to order from major bookshops and online.

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