A reporter from the Carlisle News & Star has told how he challenged snooker No1 Stephen Hendry to a match on the green baize – and won.

Journalist Mark Hughes met up with the sporting great hours before his match with fellow professional Ronnie O’Sullivan in the town, and took him on at a game of pool.

And to his surprise he was able to claim victory over the world number one and seven-times world champion.

Mark, (20), said: “Okay, so it was in front of eight people rather than 800 and it was on a 6ft x 3ft pool table in a city centre bookies and not on a competition-size snooker table in a packed venue on live television, but a win is a win!”

Mark (left) with Stephen Hendry

Mark’s chance to face up to one of his sporting heroes came during a meet and greet session ahead of Hendry’s Betfred Premier League game at Carlisle’s Sands Centre.

After Mark racked the balls up, Hendry decided to break and the journalist feared a whitewash without even getting a shot.

But Hendry didn’t pot from the break and Mark was then able to sink four yellows in a row before a foul allowed Hendry in, and he in turn managed three of his reds before missing.

Mark said: “I pocketed two more yellows and Hendry, sensing defeat was on the cards, resorted to gamesmanship to try to throw me off course.

“Standing over the pocket he said ‘this is an easy one here’ as I faced up to a long yellow into the corner.

“It didn’t work. I potted and was on the black.”

He added: “The black was stuck against the cushion. I had to double it and missed by miles.

“Stephen went back to the table and, struggling to clear his remaining four reds, decided to try to snooker me.

“I got out, but he cleared up and was on the black.

“It was against the cushion and, despite the fact he earns millions judging angles on a table four times as big as this, he got it woefully wrong.

“It left me with the simplest of tasks to roll the black into the middle for a famous victory… well, I’ll remember it anyway.”

He told HoldtheFrontPage: “I didn’t think I had any chance at all and when it was penciled in on the news list I think everyone expected it to be a story about how he hammered me. But it turned out to be an even better piece.

“He signed my notebook ‘well played from Stephen Hendry’ to prove that I had won.”