A SNOOKER-playing grandmother from Eynesbury has been selected for the England Ladies Snooker Team.

A SNOOKER-playing grandmother from Eynesbury has been selected for the England Ladies Snooker Team.

Jan Hughes, 61, has been called up by the English Association of Snooker and Billiards for the Home Internationals event in Prestatyn in Wales September 10 to 17.

Grandmother-of-six Jan said she had been both honoured and shocked at being called up for her debut.

“The week I got picked was actually an amazing week for me.

“I was celebrating my grandmother’s 108th birthday with all the family, then I got the letter through the post saying I had been called up.

“It was a real surprise – you don’t expect to get selected for England when you’re 61!”

Jan went over 20 years without playing the sport after first picking up a cue when she was 13 years old.

“The first time I played was at my local social club. I was just cleaning tables and I remember driving my manager nuts, begging him to let me have a go.

“He said once I’d done all my work he would teach me the basics, so I was literally only playing 10 minutes a week, at the end of each shift.

“But because at this time women playing snooker was frowned upon, I didn’t really get the opportunity to play again until I was 34.

“That was when I was working in a canteen at Edgware Football Club in London. I was only allowed on the tables if the men weren’t playing.”

Nearly 30 years on, Jan is ranked second in England, 24th in the world, and is showing no signs of giving up the sport.

“To be honest, I do have to work hard at my game; I am by no means a ‘natural’.

“My highest break is 46, but it’s always been my goal to make 50. One day I’ll get there.”