DESPITE ‘dying three times’ on the operating table, Adrian Taylor considers himself the luckiest man in the world.

He says he doesn’t believe there is life after death, he knows there is.

How? Because he says he has seen it.

The grandfather-of-17, from Eynsham, was nicknamed “miracle man” by staff at the John Radcliffe Hospital after pulling back from the brink on three separate occasions.

The first was in 2001 when he suffered a serious stroke, the second was just a year later when he had heart surgery to replace an aortic valve, and the third was in 2006, when he suffered a serious bleed in his heart.

Each time medics battling to save him told his wife Shirley to expect the worse.

Mr Taylor, 65, said he remembers a feeling of complete calm.

He said: “During each of those illnesses I ‘passed away’ and was resuscitated by medics. I think of myself as the luckiest man alive.”

He added: “The three transitions were all almost identical.

“Some readers may say it was the drugs, the effects of being unconscious, or just pure imagination.

“And I fully expect people to give me some stick over this, but I know there is life after death. I have seen it.

“It’s difficult to describe the wonderful feelings I was experiencing – there are no words precise enough.

“Peace and freedom come close but only scratch the surface.

“I remember knowing my family and people who had gone before me were there.

“There were thousands of other people there too but I felt like I knew every one of them.”

Mr Taylor, who is now separated from his wife, said he wants to dedicate his life to helping other people and to letting them know there is life after death.

He said: “I am not afraid any more.

“I want other people to know they do not need to be scared about dying.“ Mr Taylor has written a book about his experiences which he sells for £3 in aid of St Leonard’s Church, in Eynsham.

To buy a copy, email Mr Taylor at tayloradrian44@yahoo.co.uk