And he predicted Tommy Cooper's death

‘I do see spirits,’ the comic told the Sunday Mercury newspaper. ‘I had my first experience when I was about eight years old.

‘The spirit started with a mist and then began vibrating and moving around me. It slowly formed into a little girl. This girl used to come and visit me about three or four times a year.

‘One night I was lying in my bed and a green fluorescent face appeared over me. I really was frightened that time. I put my head under the blanket asking for it to go, but when I pulled the covers off, it was there again. It was demonic.’

And 65-year-old Starr, a former Valium addict, also claims he has the gift if premonition.

‘When I met Muhammad Ali for the first time in the Sixties I told him that he would find another religion to follow which would result in him changing his name from Cassius Clay. He said to me, “What are you talking about?”, but years later that’s exactly what happened.

‘And when I saw on the news that Paul McCartney had become engaged to Heather Mills I immediately shouted: ”NO!” at the TV screen. I knew she was bad and that was because of my ability.

Starr even claims he foresaw Tommy Cooper’s death in 1984. ‘When Tommy Cooper was performing live on TV I thought that something bad was going to happen. Then he died on screen and I knew that was it.’

Published: 21 Sep 2008