FARMER Michael Taylor used a water diviner to wipe thousands of pounds off his bills and boost his business.

Mr Taylor, of Sunderland Hall Farm, Balderstone, turned to Welsh diviner Clive Thompson in an attempt to stave off mounting water costs as the industry got back on its feet after the foot and mouth crisis.

He said he was paying North West Water a small fortune each year for metered water and decided to pull the plug.

Mr Taylor, who runs the 154-acre milk and beef farm with brother Colin and nephew Phil, said: "We use quite a lot of water feeding cattle and washing them down, as well as keeping the farm clean, and it was costing us thousands of pounds a year. We were fed-up with paying high bills.

"Other people have tried to set up their own water supplies but have had problems but the water diviner was spot-on."

Mr Taylor, 49, called in County Waterwells, of Westhoughton, which relies on the divining skills of Mr Thompson, a retired Anglesey engineer.

Mr Taylor, who also rents grazing land near Bull Hill in Darwen, revealed: "Clive came to survey the site and went into a trance before starting to dowse for aquafers with a plastic stick.

"We blindfolded him for good measure and turned him around a few times, just to test him, but he gravitated toward a spot in the field and walked the route of the aquafer with the stick quivering like mad!"

Company owner Stuart Amon said: "Diviners can feel the energy in the ground to find a good spot."

Now the happy farmers are toasting Mr Thompson's efforts with their new spring water after he correctly predicted the depth of the 90ft well and also the water's purity.

"We were very impressed, despite our original scepticism, and the £6,000 it has cost us for the well to be drilled will be recouped in no time at all," Mr Taylor said.

The well now serves the needs of the farm, as well as the farmhouse.

A spokesman for North West Water confirmed that Mr Taylor was legally entitled to draw his own water but declined to comment further.

The Environment Agency oversees bore-holing in England and spokesperson Melanie Walker said: "As far as we are concerned, if water is used for domestic supply and it is under 20m cubed or 4,400 gallons a day and is on private land then there is no need to have a licence." She added: "I have never known of this before and it is very quaint and lovely to hear of a story like this."