A SNOOKER club badly damaged by fire is now to play host to a Whirlwind after it was confirmed that snooker legend Jimmy White would officially declare the venue open again following repairs.

The club was forced to close after fire ripped through the Broadcut hall last October.

It has taken owner Serena Sinanan 80 days to restore the club, having replaced the roof, refitted the kitchen and re-clothed and polished all 12 snooker tables.

Now she is looking forward to the official reopening with the news that Jimmy White, nicknamed "The Whirlwind", will be officiating at the ribbon-cutting ceremony.

She said: "It was quite a serious fire and obviously a lot of work needed doing to get us back up and running. I am so pleased that we are opening this week and delighted that Jimmy White is coming to do it. He really is the people's favourite and it will be great to have him cut the ribbon for us."

The opening coincides with the club's 17th anniversary.

The invitation-only event is on Friday evening before Fareham Snooker Club fully reopens on Saturday following the refit.

It was thought an electrical fault in the kitchen was to blame for the fire that broke out in the early hours of October 16.

Firefighters wearing breathing apparatus battled to contain the fire under a collapsing roof.

The intense heat also caused water pipes to burst, flooding the business underneath the snooker club.

In all, the damage was estimated at about £1m.

Serena said: "It was mostly smoke damage that we had to deal with but the kitchen was gutted and the roof needed replacing. I want to say a big thank you to the builders, Skyline Construction Ltd, who have worked seven days a week, including Boxing Day, to make sure we reopened as quickly as possible."