SWINDON'S own dowsing expert has died at the age of 78.

Dennis Wheatley, of Blunsdon, passed away at his home on Monday.

He leaves behind his widow Mary and their four children, Denise, Gillian, Maria and Ned.

Mr Wheatley, who was a retired company executive, laughed when his daughter suggested he take up dowsing detecting invisible earth energies using homemade diving rods to prevent him from getting bored during his retirement.

After teaching himself the art, he travelled up and down the country investigating ley lines, standing stones and the earth's magnetic flows.

He even started teaching the dowsing to students as part of Swindon College's adult learners courses.

At the time when he started the course, Mr Wheatley said: "I wasn't sure if it was science or sorcery until I read into the subject.

"People don't realise they have the gift to dowse. It is an ancient art that was used by people to find water and was a part of a survival technique, but in modern times it is not needed."

He believed that he could date ancient standing stones at sites like Avebury by the use of the dowsing rods and pendulums, which can be made out of household items such as coat hangers.

As part of his course he taught his students how to make their own detection equipment and he was confident they would all be able to find pulses of energy.

"The energies are so strong at Avebury and Stonehenge that an idiot could make the rods work," he said.

In 1990 Mr Wheatley visited the famous crop circles at Stratton's Farm, in Alton Barnes, near Marlborough.

He was using his rods to check out the energies of the circles and came to the conclusion that it was a spiritual force, known as Deva, and not an alien lifeform that created the pictograms.

Before retiring, Mr Wheatley worked as the vice-president of Vishay Resistive Systems Group, which had its European headquarters in Swindon.

The funeral service is being held at Kingsdown Crematorium on Wednesday at 10am.

The family has asked for family flowers only, but donations to the British Heart Foundation can be sent to G and L Evans Family Funeral Services, which can be contacted on 01793 765138.