A man who believes that psychics can contact the dead was celebrating a landmark legal victory last night.
Alan Power, 62, won a ruling from a judge that his spiritualist beliefs qualify as a religion which should be protected in the workplace.
The decision clears the way for Mr Power to bring a discrimination case over his sacking by Greater Manchester Police.
He claims he was fired from his job training special constables after just three weeks, when his bosses became aware that he believes messages from beyond the grave could help in criminal investigations.
Mr Power, who has attended a spiritualist church for 29 years, said after the hearing: 'This is fantastic. It proves spirituality is a religion worthy of respect.'
But Mark Hill, QC, acting for the police, warned that the ruling could open the floodgates.
He said it could lead to a 'Jedi Knights' defence - based on the co- ordinated campaign in the 2001 census when 390,000 people claimed to follow the religion from the Star Wars films.
At yesterday's Employment Appeal Tribunal hearing, Greater Manchester Police Authority were appealing against a previous ruling that spiritualism qualified as a 'religious or philosophical belief' under the Religion and Belief Regulations 2003.
At the earlier hearing, Judge Peter Russell told an employment tribunal: 'I am satisfied that, in common with other spiritualists, the claimant believes in the existence of a God, that there is life after death and that the dead can be contacted through
mediums. I am satisfied that such beliefs are capable of being religious beliefs for the purposes of the 2003 Regulations.'
Yesterday Judge Peter Clark upheld this decision.
He said: 'Mr Hill has wholly failed to persuade me that such a conclusion is entirely perverse.'
The judge added: 'There is no suggestion that the claimant does not genuinely believe in the tenets of the faith.'
Mr Power, from Birkenhead, Merseyside, can now bring a religious discrimination claim over his sacking last October.
His case is due to be heard by the Manchester Employment Tribunal later this month.
Mr Power said last night: 'I haven't claimed costs and I'm not claiming compensation. It's about hurt feelings. I expect my religion to be respected.
'If someone came up to me and said they were a Jedi Knight I would respect their religious belief if that is how they saw it.'
Greater Manchester Police refused to comment.
In the 2001 census spiritualism was the eighth largest faith group in Britain with 32,404 people claiming allegiance.
The Jedi Knights were fourth, with 390,000.
The Equality and Employment (Religion or Belief) Regulations 2003 were brought in to stop employees being sacked on grounds of religion. After lobbying by secular groups, philosophical beliefs were included.
Last week another judge ruled that 'green' beliefs also qualify. Tim Nicholson, 42, had claimed his desire to prevent climate change was protected.
His employer had argued that green views were simply a lifestyle choice.
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