THE burning desire he felt to get back on the baize during his sabbatical from snooker proved to Ben Harrison that he wasn't ready to give up on his dream of breaking in to the professional game.

The 23-year-old amateur, from Hawkeridge, has long chased a spot on the World Snooker tour but after his funding dried up in the latter stages of last year, Harrison was forced to take a break from playing. He relocated to Cheltenham and also took up a job as an estate agent.

But after securing some new sponsorship, Harrison is ready to get back on the grind and is set to go chasing a two-year pro spot at May's World Snooker Q School.

And despite crashing out in the South West qualifiers after returning to action in February, the Wiltshire cueman remains the reigning English amateur champion and subsequently has another shot at a tour card when he flies out to represent England at the EBSA European Championships in Prague this June.

"In about September last year, one of my sponsors dropped out and I had to take a break – things almost came to an end," said Harrison, who is also backed by Westbury's Imperial Charity.

"I moved to Cheltenham and started working as an estate agent.

"But I could tell just how much I missed playing. Luckily, a guy called Alex Connell, who runs a company called More Play, came in to sponsor me.

"He asked 'why aren't you pro yet?' He paid for my £600 Q School entry.

"I've been playing at a little conservative club in Cheltenham after work and also back at Players (in Westbury) too. I also play a lot at the (South West) Snooker Academy in Gloucester too.

"I'm 23 now and I know that if I can get on the tour, I could push on a long way from there.

"I still have that desire and I've got to try and make a living out of this."