Using a divining stick does work ... just ask the water companies!

To its devotees, it is an ancient practice used successfully for centuries to find water.

And while sceptics say there is no scientific proof dowsing works, at least one important group of experts appears to be prepared to give it a try – Britain’s water companies.

They admit they still allow their engineers to use rods to divine for mains pipes.

one company even said that ‘the older tried and tested methods are just as effective’ as modern techniques using drones and satellites.

Engineers dowse for water using L or Yshaped divining rods as they walk the land. The rods are held out in front of the dowser and twitch to indicate the presence of underground water. Their continued use came to light when a couple called out engineers from water company Severn Trent to their home in the Midlands.

They were so astonished to see a technician use dowsing rods to locate the mains pipe that they contacted their daughter Sally Le Page, an oxford University scientist. She contacted Severn Trent, who confirmed their technicians still use the medieval method.

Nine other water firms – Scottish, Yorkshire, United Utilities, Thames, Southern, South West, Northumbrian, Welsh and Anglian – then told her they, too, use dowsing. Miss Le Page, who is studying for a PhD in evolutionary biology, said her parents ‘couldn’t believe their eyes’ when the technician used two ‘bent tent pegs’ to locate the mains pipe.

She wrote on the website Medium: ‘You could just laugh this off. Isn’t it a bit silly that big companies are still using magic to do their jobs!’ Miss Le Page said there was no rigorous scientific evidence that dowsing works and called on the water firms to ‘leave the magic to Harry Potter’.

She claimed the method could have dire consequences if a mains pipe was ruptured as a result of incorrect information from dowsing. But a Severn Trent spokesman said: ‘We don’t issue divining rods to our engineers – but we believe some of our engineers use them.

‘As long as the leak is found and repaired quickly, by whatever means, we’re happy and so are our customers.’

The firm added: ‘We use detailed mapping systems to identify where our network of pipes are, which helps us to react quickly when leaks and bursts happen.

‘To track down exactly where leaks on our pipes are, we use an array of cutting-edge technology. Just recently we’ve begun using satellite data and imagery to monitor our pipes from space and we regularly use drones to spot leaks from the air.’

As well as detecting water, dowsers have claimed to be able to locate precious metals – and even bombs.