FAMILY and friends are concerned for the well-being of a former top club snooker player who has disappeared while on holiday in Blackpool.

Mr Ronald Bannister, 65, of Haven Street, Burnley, was with eight friends from the Rosegrove Unity Club enjoying a few days in the resort when he left their hotel saying he was going for a walk.

That was at 5pm on Saturday and he has not been seen since.

The group had gone to a club when Mr Bannister, a winner of the Golden Cue competition, said he was going back to their hotel, the Burlington, to change. He then told the landlady he was going out for a walk. A police spokesman said: "Mr Bannister had suffered from a stroke and there is concern for his well being. His friends think he may have decided to walk home to Burnley.''

Mr Bannister, who formerly worked at Lucas Aerospace, is 5ft 8in tall, of medium build, with a fair complexion, brown eyes and very short grey hair.

He was wearing black slip-on shoes, white socks, light grey trousers, yellow T-shirt, a cream and white woolly jumper and a black coat or jacket.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Burnley police on 01282-425001.

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