Ever wonder why your next-door neighbour is always winning the lottery and experiencing other good fortune while you can’t win a raffle prize at a church fete?

Well, one of the visitors to Devizes Festival can answer many of your questions.

Professor Richard Wiseman holds the chair in the public understanding of psychology and he will deliver a talk on The Luck Factor at the town hall on Wednesday, June 19, at 8pm.

He will explain why some people lead happy, successful lives while others face repeated failure and sadness; and why some people always seem to be in the right place at the right time while others are always too early or too late to get the good stuff.

Prof Wiseman has given keynote addresses to the Royal Society and Google and acted as creative consultant to British illusionist and hypnotist Derren Brown.

To date, more than two million people have taken part in his mass participation experiments.