The number of British people who believe they have seen or heard an angel has doubled in six years, according to a new survey.

A Bible Society poll found one in three Brits believe in angels while one in 10 people claim to have seen or heard an angel.

This is double the number who responded positively to the same question in a survey in 2010, when just 5 per cent claimed they'd had an experience with an angel.

A third of all Brits believe they have a guardian angel.

Women are more likely to believe in angels than men, and marginally more likely to have seen or heard an angel.

A similar proportion reports seeing or hearing an angel across the country. However, those aged over 75 are far less likely to have seen or heard an angel, even though this age group is most likely to believe in them.

The research is part of Bible Society's Pass it On campaign which encourages parents and young children to engage or re-engage with the Bible's classic stories.

The society's Rachel Rounds said: "'Of course, there will be many who say it is people's 'imagination or wishful thinking', but Bible Society believe it's hard to argue that one in 10 people, in this country, claim to have experienced an angel.

"The Bible makes it very clear angels exist and so, it seems, do people in 21st century Britain. Bible Society believes it is very difficult to argue with those who claim to have experienced an angel and say what they have seen, heard or felt is wrong or a product of their own imagination."

More than 2,000 adults were polled by ICM for Bible Society. 

One of those interviewed in detail was former Squadron Leader, Tom Rounds, now Mayor of Calne, who believes an angel saved his life.

As a C130 Hercules navigator in the 1980s, Squadron Leader, Rounds, was taking part in a routine low level flying exercise, 250ft above ground level, which took him and the highly experienced crew from RAF Lyneham, through Wales and the West Country.

Finally, they flew back round to Salisbury Plain, where they were due to drop a resupply load.

Down at 250ft, their flight was plagued with low cloud and rain which meant they had to keep climbing up to a safe altitude when they couldn't see well enough what was ahead. Every so often, though, there was a break in the cloud so they would descend back to 250ft.

At one point they were flying at this height, along the south edge of a valley, near Lampeter. Even though the cloud cover had been sporadic, it suddenly became impossible for them to see, so at 280mph and still at 250ft, they were flying blind.

Squadron Leader Rounds said: "At some point I felt an overwhelming urge to climb the aircraft away from our then height of 250ft. The hairs on my neck stood up. It was almost as though something was screaming in my head to take action immediately.

"I duly screamed at the pilot to initiate a hard climb and rapid turn left, as I believed our safety was to be had out over the low lying land to our north over the valley."

Just as he yelled at the crew, the radar altimeter, an electronic device that transmits constantly and tells the crew the actual height of the aircraft directly above the ground, began shrieking.

Rounds said: "We knew at that point that we were now less than 250ft from the ground despite the aircraft attitude being at over 50 degrees, banked to the left, and climbing. We were now flying parallel to the northern slope of the mountain.

"We then watched mesmerised as the indicated height on the radar altimeter continued to fall and reached at just 50ft - where it stayed. I absolutely believed the plane was about to crash straight into the mountainside and that I had now consigned us, as a crew, to the statistics book of another RAF aircraft lost on a training sortie."

For several seconds the reading remained resolutely at 50ft until, with an enormous collective sigh of relief, the figures began to increase showing that they were indeed climbing away from the mountain slope and gaining altitude away from the threat of danger.

"As we flew on, no one said a word," said Rounds, "Except for acknowledging instructions from Air Traffic Control, nothing more was said of the incident but I, for one, will never forget that flight. What might have happened had I shouted my instructions say five or even 10 seconds later?

"Was that my guardian angel who spoke to me urging I take immediate action? I don't suppose I shall really know for certain but during a quiet moment, I like to believe it was."