Welsh professional snooker player Jamie Jones has opened up about the mental turmoil he went through serving a 12-month ban from the sport after becoming caught up in a match-fixing scandal.
Jones was suspended last October after being accused of being part of a plan to fix a match between fellow Welshman David John and Graeme Dott.
A corruption inquiry banned John from the sport for five years and seven months, while Jones was given a one-year suspension.
Jones, world number 39 at the time he was charged, was cleared of match-fixing but admitted failing to report a corrupt approach.
John was ordered to pay £17,000 costs, while Jones was fined £9,000.
Both men's bans were reduced - John's from seven years and Jones' from 16 months - as a result of them admitting the charges.
Jones is now free to resume his snooker career, but went to his Facebook page to reveal the 'mental hole' he found himself in over the last 12 months.
The 31-year-old from Neath, who reached the quarter-final of the 2012 World Championship and last eight of the 2016 UK Championship, said: "My 12-month suspension from playing professional snooker has ended, for failing to report my suspicion of another player's involvement in match fixing.
"I can finally put the worst year of my life behind me.
"One year ago, everything changed. Twenty years of hard work on the table was taken away from me.
"At first, I struggled to leave my house. The way my name was wrongly spread across the press for allegedly being involved in 'match fixing' left me in a position where I couldn't defend myself.
"I felt as though everywhere I went, I had to answer to people asking me how many matches I had fixed - which was later shown to be none.
"I never thought I could feel as low as I did."
Jones, who at 14 became the youngest ever player to make a maximum 147 break, before being beaten by Judd Trump, opened up about how his family and a job cutting grass helped overcome the dark days of serving the ban.
"The best thing I have done to get myself out of the mental hole I found myself in is to get a job, working as a ground maintenance operative (grass cutting) for my local council," he said.
"Getting up and going to work has built my confidence back up, allowing me to be happy again.
"I'm so lucky to have all my family and friends around me who have helped me through this.
"The best part of it all, is that I now have a new family member with the recent birth of my little boy, who has made me more determined than ever to lead a positive life.
"I have never felt such a desire to make a success of my snooker career.
"I have learnt from my mistake in failing to report, but I found myself in a difficult position and, sadly made decisions that were not in keeping with my otherwise good reputation in the game.
"I know feel so driven by the dark times I have been through and can't wait to be back doing what I do best - playing professional snooker."
