Retired bus driver John Edward Birtwhistle, 77, of Burnley, Lancashire, England, changed his name to Jesus Christ after claiming that he had healing powers to cure the sick.

He said it all started in 1986 when people started calling him "Jesus," the Daily Mail reported.

That time he was running a B&B and he said he was initially sceptical but made the decision when he "healed" someone who was suffering from a sore neck.

"One day, out of the blue, a customer came in and went down on one knee and called me Jesus," he told the Daily Mail. "Then it happened again within the same week. I was called Jesus by a lady and I said 'I'm not.' I thought 'what's happening here?' I couldn't understand it."

He added that "things started to happen like healing."

"I thought I've never done that before in my life. One of my customers was coming down the stairs and fell. He really badly injured his neck. So I went over and I just put my hands on him and said: 'Are you alright, I hope you're not hurt,'" Christ said.

The customer said "No, I'm alright now."

"I thought this is strange. They're calling me Jesus and this person fell down the stairs, injured his neck badly and this healing took place instantly. I thought there must be something in this," he said.

In 1996, he decided to change his name to Jesus Christ through a deed poll. He also decided to give away his business to friends and spent three years doing nothing.

"I had already gone through a spiritual calling. I thought if you're spirit you don't sell things to make a profit, you give things away and that's the most important thing," he said.

He lived as a homeless person in London to feel the suffering of other people.

"I slept on a bench in pouring rain. I pulled people off the floor in the mud and said 'Come on, I've got some boxes here to keep you dry' and put a tarpaulin on the top. I was going into bins and getting food. A bakery used to throw bread out and I'd go and pick it out and eat the bread," he said.

Christ credits divine intervention that afforded him to buy a train ticket back to go back to Burnley.

"I thought 'how can I get back to Burnley?' I'd cycled down. I was in no fit state to cycle back. I asked the spirit for help. I needed £40 for the train," he said. 'I'd no money. I hadn't a penny."

Christ said every Sunday, he would walk towards Oxford Street in London. He helped an old lady cross the street to the church and she started giving him £2 every time.

He said he believes that he was Jesus Christ in his past life.

"'When I was here 2,000 years ago I was teaching these people how to live in harmony with the spirit and it was all to do with nature; grow your own food, eat fruit and veg and only drink water," he said. ''People say Jesus changed water into wine. I didn't do that, I changed wine into water. Alcohol is bad for you."

He said he became a victim of hateful attacks since changing his name. But he said he has no plans to stop.

"People spat at me, shouted at me. I've had people get hold of me and shake me. It's not nice. They didn't like my name. They hated it. I don't have any friends. They talk nice to your face but stab you in the back when you're not looking," he said.

He is planning to run as an MP in Burnley.