A CHESHIRE magician has found the perfect spell to survive the difficulties of the economic recession.

Despite challenging times for hundreds of workers in the wake of the financial downturn, John Holt from Clutton has pulled his best trick yet out of the hat by managing to secure his dream career as a magician, and beat the credit crunch.

A former social worker, John worked in a number of jobs before discovering magic, including a radio DJ and nursing assistant.

But it wasn’t until he was in his mid-20s working as a casino croupier in his hometown of Blackpool that the concept of becoming a professional magician became a reality.

“I was dealing a poker game in the back of the casino at about 4am when one of the players asked if I knew any ‘moves’,” said John, 36.

“I had no idea what he meant and he spent 10 minutes showing me card cheating techniques, deals, shuffles and card switching and I was completely blown away.

“I nagged him to tell me how it was done and in the end he told me about a few books that explained these moves. I tracked down a few and learned my first tricks from there,” he added.

Soon afterwards, John, his wife and their two daughters left Blackpool and moved to Clutton two years ago to be close to relatives and because it seemed ‘a great place to live’.

He practised tricks on family and friends and read books to sharpen his skills, before he eventually started getting work performing at weddings, trade shows and corporate events, entertaining clients with tricks that include solving a Rubik's cube while blindfolded and mind-reading.

To learn more about John Holt, visit www.johnholtmagic.co.uk and to enquire about a free lesson call John on 07950 338093.