NEWPORT snooker referee Paul Collier (pictured) had a lucky escape when he was involved in a car crash in Scotland.

Mr Collier, who was officiating at a Premier League event in Greenock, was near his hotel in Langbank at 11pm on Saturday when his vehicle was in collision with another car.

Mr Collier was wearing his seatbelt, but the in-car airbag failed to open up and he butted the windscreen.

He suffered cuts and bruises, and was treated at hospital, before going on to referee three more Premier League matches in Greenock yesterday before flying back to Cardiff from Glasgow for the start of the Welsh Open Championships at the Welsh Institute of Sport today.

"I had no idea what happened," he told the Argus. "I had just pulled onto the roundabout to turn right, and felt I had lost the car. I thought I had hit an ice patch.

"I headbutted the windscreen and went over the roundabout, and stopped about 80 yards down the road."

He said of his plans for today's matches: "Maybe I'll just mark for the day and referee later."

A spokeswoman for Strathclyde Police said: "One man has been reported to the Procurator Fiscal for an alleged road traffic offence, and they will decide if charges are being pursued."