WHEN he was nine years old, Steve Holbrook's grandad paid him a visit.

Nothing unusual in that - except that Steve's grandad had just died five minutes previously.

"He told me to tell my mum he'd gone," recalled Steve. "I didn't really understand what he meant. When I told my mum, she asked: 'Gone where?' It was only the next day we found out he'd died."

That was the first indication of Steve's abilities as a clairaudient - someone who can hear voices of people from beyond the grave.

"I'm like a telephone exchange between this life and the next," he said.

And, for the past 19 years, Wakefield-born Steve, 38, has demonstrated his talent to audiences up and down the country.

"I convey messages to members of the audience from the spirit world," he explained.

"Loved ones who have passed away send messages to the people who come to see me.

"A lot of the messages are very specific things - names, dates, places.

"I'm in tears just about every night."

Of course, Steve's quick to admit acts such as his are an easy target for sceptics, which is why he has shunned TV appearances to date.

"I've been offered a contract with Channel Four and the BBC," he said, "but I turned them down.

"I've got three kids and I want to be around when they grow up. I'm also not very happy about mediumship being presented as some sort of TV entertainment."

Steve's reservations on that point are a little unfortunate, given that his act is thought to have inspired one of TV comedy's recent clairvoyant creations - the medium in Phoenix Nights.

"I watched about two minutes of the Peter Kay sketch before I had to switch off," he said. "I wasn't annoyed - there is a lot of humour in clairvoyance. But there's a lot more to it than that."

Catch Steve at King George's Hall, Blackburn on Monday, November 15 (for tickets, call 01254 298366) and Leyland Civic Hall on Tuesday, November 16 on (01924 898688).