The town's former Riley's Snooker Club, which was blackballed abruptly at the end of March, is to reopen at the beginning of next month.

Local businessman Terry Kaye is the man behind the club's reopening – and he will be breaking off under the new name Chalky's.

He told the Evening News: "I know there's a lot of snooker fans in town who were upset that Riley's had shut down and I knew they'd be delighted to see it reopen its doors."

But Mr Kaye, who also runs TKO's sports bar and the Commercial pub in Falsgrave Road, says he does not expect owning the St Nicholas Street club to improve his game.

He said: "I've always played snooker – I love all sports – but I expect I'll be a bit too busy to get any better on the tables."

Riley's fell victim to the credit crunch when it closed without warning on Wednesday March 26.

The club's six staff were told the locks had been changed, the cash was to be banked and the club had ceased treading.

Read the full story in Monday's Evening News