Christian healers braved the cold to reach out to the people of Oxford in the city centre.

More than two dozen healers took to the streets to help passers-by – and many claimed to have had some miraculous results in Cornmarket Street.

Andrew Myatt, 46, leader of Oxford Vineyard Church, said he believed people suffering from back pain, arthritis, addictions, cancer and depression could be healed by prayer. He said: “People need healing and we believe that Jesus heals people. We see that regularly in our meetings and we want to make it available to anybody who would like to receive heeling.

“It’s not faith healing. It’s not about what we know. People come and sit down and they tell us what they would like prayed for. One guy told us he’d had three years bad luck and we prayed to break that cycle.

“We had another guy who’d injured his knee playing sport and when he sat on the chair, one of his legs was about two inches shorter than the other. As we prayed for him you could see the leg move out and he felt a lot better.”

Last month, the healing squad treated about 60 people.

And in under two hours on Saturday, another dozen had asked for help. Mr Myatt said: “Usually people are handing out leaflets because they want to sell you something, but our healing is totally free – there’s no charge.

“I think it can be scary for people to come and sit down in the street, but the flyers give people contact details if they want to give us a call.”

Boy Sudjaitham, 28, from Cowley, took a seat because he said he had been in many fights when younger and believed he needed redemption. He described the experience as ‘very peaceful’.

He said: “It helped clear my mind. I want to meet the right sort of people, not aggressive and violent people.”

George Taylor, 63, from Jericho, stopped because he said he had been feeling a little depressed.

He said: “I believe in healing and I regularly pray for other people. Attitude and positivity are so important and prayer helps.”

Healer Marla Helstrom, from Witney, prayed for two women. She said: “One girl had problems at work and the other girl had marriage problems.”

Healer David White, 56, from Headington, said he first witnessed the amazing power of healing when he lived in the Philippines. He said: “It’s very exciting. It’s lovely to help somebody else.”

The Healing on the Streets Team, which is made up of members of Oxford Vineyard Church, St Aldate’s Church, Living Stones Community Church and Emmanuel Church, now plans to gather in Cornmarket Street every Saturday.

tom.shepherd@oxfordmail.co.uk