For someone who didn't know which end of the cue to use, Jamie Saczak has made astonishing progress on the pool and snooker tables of Oxfordshire.

And now he has earned himself a place in the England squad for the Youth World Pool Championships.

Jamie, 15, from Cumnor Road, Wootton, near Abingdon, has come a long way since his parents bought him a secondhand pool table for his eighth birthday.

He now has a passion for both pool and snooker, and his goal is to become a professional player by the age of 20.

He said: "It's a big ambition but I enjoy the games so much that I'm determined to make the grade at the professional level.

"I began to play not really knowing which end of the pool cue to use. But I was quick to learn and was soon seeing off all my family and friends."

He won his first league match for his snooker team at the Oracle Club in Abingdon when he was 11, the youngest ever player in the club's history to achieve a victory. Four years ago, Jamie formed his own team in the Oxford League, and under his captaincy finished third in division five. He went on to reach the semi-finals of the Didcot League's under-23 knockout cup.

Last year, a freak injury put his career in jeopardy. He was playing table tennis when he cracked his left elbow - his cueing arm - in an accidental clash with a friend.

Jamie said: "I needed an operation but somehow recovered in seven weeks to play pool for Oxfordshire."

He reached the semi-finals last year of the national singles tournament and has now been selected to play for England under-16s at the world championships in Bridlington, which start next Tuesday.

He said: "I've been practising hard, because this is a wonderful opportunity to show what I can do on the national stage.

"I'm more nervous than excited, because I know the competition will be tough. You don't get so many chances at this level."