THE internationally-renowned snooker coach dubbed ‘Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde’ is packing up his eight ball and bidding a fond farewell to Chard.

Bill McGregor is well-known in the pubs, clubs and snooker halls of Somerset and beyond and he has issued his thanks to the ‘lovely people’ who have given him such cherished memories.

Bil, 76, is moving to Stafford to be closer to family with a heavy heart but it is the people in Chard he will miss most.

From teenage protégés to world champions, from Taunton to Singapore – you name it, Bill has coached them.

At the age of 12, Bill picked up his first cue, having been thrown out of his classroom, and has potted a path for himself which has seen him coach in several European countries, including Belgium, France, Holland, Luxembourg, Latvia and Poland.

Having become close pals with snooker stars Willy Thorne and Alex Higgins, he has many a tale to tell. Surrounded by photos and memorabilia in his Larch Avenue home, he told the News he wanted to say a big thank you.

He said: “I love the people here. I have met a lot of people, mainly through my coaching, and I will never, ever forget them.

“I’ve been all over the world with this job and have had a wonderful time. I was the national coach of Singapore, which was fantastic – I was picked up by a Mercedes-Benz at the hotel every day. I love life and I love laughing, it’s what it’s all about. I will have a laugh with anyone but when it comes to my coaching I am deadly serious.

“I’ve got the nick-name in Holland of being Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde.

“I have made a lot of friends and I want to say thank you to everyone – and I am sorry to be leaving. I will miss them all.”

As a teen, Bill would hustle in the snooker halls of Glasgow, challenging men four times his age to a match for ‘two bob’ after having analysed them closely for hours on end.

Bill was an apprentice electrician with British Railways and completed his National Service in the Army. He moved to Ilton in 1964 with his wife Jean and in 1976 he completed a qualification to become an amateur snooker coach.

Two years later he became a professional coach, working all around the area, including a stint at Chard Youth Club, before moving to Portsmouth in about 1980. He also played for the Conservative Club in Chard. In 1986 he returned to the area to open the Pot Black snooker club in Yeovil.