A Greenwich man and ex championship boxer has traded punching for preaching after discovering he has the "ability to perform street miracles". CARLY READ reports.

Daniel Chand claims to have healed cancer patients, diabetics and the blind but for the 23-year-old from Abbey Wood, life as a self-proclaimed evangelist has not always been easy.

Mr Chand, who claims to have spoken to Jesus, said his pilgrimage began three years ago after falling into "the wrong crowd."

He said: "I was in a lot of trouble with the police and got charged for fights and GBH. That was when I decided it was time for a fresh start.

"I remember being outside the court room and I prayed to God to give me one more chance and the next thing I knew, the trial collapsed."

It was when Mr Chand, of Binsey Walk, began reading the bible that he realised his true calling in life was to help people.

He claims he then discovered he had been given the gift of healing.

He said: "I remember walking up to a Muslim man who was limping in HMV and thinking that he might respond negatively to me because he was a different religion to me. I told him Jesus wanted to heal his leg and he just looked at me.

"Then I prayed for him and it was the most amazing thing I have ever seen. He was running up and down the DVD section."

But Mr Chand, who became a professional boxer aged 19, faced a public backlash when taking to social media after the apparent miracle.

He said: "I have had a lot of people saying to me it’s all fake and staged, particularly after what happened with the Muslim guy when I put it up on Facebook. So that’s when I started making videos, to prove to people that I have a gift and I wanted to use it to help people."

"We started filming in Abbey Wood, Woolwich and other locations around London. It was all about loving people and helping them."

Despite his street success, Mr Chand went on to suffer criticisms from the church and a strained relationship with his family.

He said: "The church was a bit judgemental to be honest. They kind of looked at me and said I was too young and they didn’t believe I could heal people. Some of the churches are against it.

"My family didn’t necessarily think I was crazy, just a bit over-excited and fanatical about God but soon they realised that all my demons had gone and I wasn’t drinking or getting into fights anymore and they realised it was a good thing."

Following on from the success of his many YouTube videos, Mr Chand has appeared on national television, toured the UK and has even had a book published.

He added: "I used to box in the ring, and now I’m boxing sickness and demons."