KEN DOHERTY SAYS he was appalled to learn that Jimmy White used crack cocaine throughout his snooker career.

Revelations about the six-time Crucible runner-up’s drug abuse were described in The Sun on Monday ahead of the release of his autobiography, with White claiming that it cost him 10 world titles.

1997 champion Doherty crossed paths with White many times during their time on the circuit and admits hearing stories of his excessive lifestyle.

“I knew he would have delved into some of the drugs over the years but I didn’t think he had gone that far and was sort of in the depths of despair for quite awhile,” Doherty told Matt Cooper on The Last Word.

“As he said, he managed to get out of it by the skin of his teeth and and is lucky to tell the tale because he could have easy gone down the total wrong road.

“There are lots and lots of stories on the circuits where he would be up all night drinking even for the final and sometimes not even getting to bed. If he did it was only one or two hours and he was going out to play in the final. I think one of the first times was against John Parrott and he lost the first session 7-0. They are stories on the circuit that are well known.

It might have been over-confidence that he was able to do it and get up the next day. He has always been a wild boy. He’s in the the mold of Alex Higgins — one of those loveable rogues.

“He’s got many stories like that down through the years but he was still able to produce great snooker.”

Listen to the full Today FM interview here

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Jimmy White: I smoked crack at Irish Masters, drugs cost me 10 world titles