A MINDREADER forced to contend with a degenerative brain disease and the Covid-19 lockdown has moved his performances online and over the phone.

Adam Hudson has practised mentalism for 20 years but has adapted his mind-bending shows for the age of the pandemic.

The 40-year-old dad from Dalton, also a teaching assistant at Barrow's Sacred Heart Primary School, started performing his mind-bending feats over the phone to raise money for charity.

He has also recently experienced two relapses of his multiple sclerosis, a neurological disorder first diagnosed 17 years ago.

Mr Hudson says he uses a mixture of suggestion and mathematical formulas to get inside people's heads at the other end of the Zoom call or phone line.

"I started off as magician but then I was diagnosed MS," he said. "I knew in the future I would have problems with hand movement and so I moved to routines that were more mind-orientated.

"People are usually stunned, absolutely stunned, when I can tell them what's in their head."

Having performed live and in schools, he started mind reading over the phone in 2020 to raise money for Newcastle Hospitals, where his daughter has received care.

He said: "Their fundraising has been non-existent because of Covid so they asked people to think outside the box"

The author of three books has also launched a podcast.

He described living with his MS, which returned in 2020 having first caused him problems in 2003.

He said: "In 2003 it was quite aggressive but I had some therapy and took a daily injection.

"Then it stayed away for around 10 years.

"In 2020 for the first time in a long time I suffered some major relapses.

"My speech slurred and I couldn't move the left side of my body.

"My scan showed it was attacking my brain stem.

"It makes me more vulnerable to viruses but it's good that I can perform from my phone."

Mr Hudson has recently undergone a form of chemotherapy to treat the disorder.

The mentalist is able to perform feats including guessing a date in someone's head or their star sign.

He has received praise in the past from illusionist Derren Brown, who called Mr Hudson's work inspiring.