A NORTH Yorkshire snooker player has been appointed official coach at the UK Championship in York next month.

Steve Prest, from Harrogate, will be on duty at the Barbican Leisure Centre, York, for the event which runs from December 3 to 16.

He will there to give free coaching lessons to any member of the public there with tickets to see the stars in action.

Prest, who runs the Manhattan Snooker Club in Beech Road, Harrogate, is a professional player, World Snooker Association qualified coach, and coach to the Iceland national association. He makes regular trips to Iceland and flies to Reykjavik next week to coach their best players.

Last week he was playing in the Benson and Hedges Championship in Mansfield and had a match with former leading pro Tony Knowles, the Harrogate man losing 5-2.

"The UK Championship organisers contacted me to ask me to give coaching to the public in the Barbican to see the snooker," he said. "The lessons will be free and last about half an hour. I'm looking forward to it. I'll be coming straight back from Iceland to York for the championship."

As reported in yesterday's Evening Press, snooker stars Jimmy White and UK Championship title holder John Higgins were in York today. They will be switching on the Christmas lights in Parliament Street at 6.50pm after joining the procession led by the Lord Mayor of York, Coun Irene Waudby, which starts at Monkbar at 6.15pm.

Today White and Higgins were playing students at pool at York University's Derwent College in aid of charity.

The UK Snooker Championship at the Barbican Centre is from December 3 to 16, with BBC televising the event from December 8. For ticket details contact the Barbican Leisure Centre box office on 01904 656688.

Updated: 09:24 Thursday, November 15, 2001