A LARGS spiritualist told how the passing of her father launched a career that saw her speak to Margaret Thatcher from beyond the grave.

Medium Jane Dawson's world was shattered when her dad Jim passed away from lung cancer whilst she was pregnant with her youngest son.

In an exclusive interview with the News charting her extraordinary career, the mum-of-three told how she rushed to his bedside just before he passed away in 2001 to tell him she was having a boy and to ask him to look after him.

It was three months later during a traumatic labour that Jane realised her father was still by her side.

She said: "The labour had been going on for hours and I was at the point where I was giving up, I felt I just couldn't do it anymore.

"Then I felt my dad's presence fill the room. I didn't see him but I knew he was there and still very much alive, just not in this dimension.

"He came through to assure me everything was going to be alright.

"I knew then he must have heard my death bed request and he had come to be there at the most important point of my son's life."

Jane said the experience slipped from her mind as she focused on her duties as a new mum - before her dad paid a second visit.

She explained: "Everyone had come over one day to see the baby. We were all sitting chatting and suddenly there was a powerful smell of fresh flowers.

"We all could smell, it but there was no explanation as to where it came from and I knew it was my dad reminding me he was still with us.

"He then started to leave me signs, like coins in my shoes, clothes that would vanish and reappear.

"One day I sat my son in his highchair and went out the room. When I came back it was facing the other way and he was fast asleep.

"I knew it was my dad looking after him as I had asked."

It wasn't until a few years later that Jane, along with her daughter, began exploring spiritualism fully.

They took a trip to California to learn about the angels and Jane enrolled in a college course to learn more. She soon realised she had a special gift and was able to communicate and with people who had passed. well known across the globe for her ability to communicate with spirits.

Jane said: "I think it is something I have always had, I just wasn't aware of it.

"When I was 10 I visited a spiritualist church and I remember being fascinated by what happens after we die, but it was my experiences later in life that have led me to know that there is another existence after death.

"I have gone on to be much more in synch with it. I suppose the gift is like tuning into a radio station. It's hard to explain but you need to find the right frequency to hear from people.

"I never see ghosts or anything like that. It is just a thought, like someone passing on the message."

Jane's gift has helped her to become one of the UK's most respected psychics and she has worked all over the world.

She added: "I am glad that I am often able to pass on messages from loved ones to people that let them know they are still here and in every part of their life.

"I remember I was holding an event on the day of Margaret Thatcher's funeral and as I was standing in front of the crowd and I felt her presence appear.

"She told me she had been to her own funeral but she wanted to know if all of this was real, and so had somehow appeared with me.

"I ended up pointing out a women in the crowd and asked if she had met Margaret Thatcher at a garden party. The woman was amazed because she had met her and spoken with her at some length.

"It really is strange how things happen but when you share the messages with people it is incredible to see the absolute joy it can bring them.

"Of course there are people who are terrified of the thought or don't believe it and I would never force the information on anyone.

"As for looking into people's futures, I can tel people about things that might happen in the future, I can make suggestions about things like that, but the thing is that these are only possibilities.

"I don't tell someone they will definitely happen because we all have free choice. People can decide whether to act on what I pass on or not.

"I see it as the ability to help heal and transform people's lives with help from the other realm."

Jane's also holds spiritual healing sessions which helps clients to reach their full potential.

She has was written a book on her life and her experiences and is a committed fundraiser for good causes, holding charity events across the UK.

She added: "I still hold events in Largs quite regularly. It is nice to be able to share my gift with people here."