Welsh snooker star Mark Williams has severely damaged his �50,000 sports car in a crash in south Wales.

The new British champion and world No.1 lost control of his rare Noble M12 GTO on an icy road and crashed the black supercar into roadside bushes.

Mr Williams, 27, escaped unhurt but now faces an anxious wait to see if the 160mph car - with its personalised CUE 1 numberplate - is an insurance write-off.

I don't know if it will be a write-off Mark Williams

The sportsman, who won the UK championship earlier this month, said: "It was icy, I spun and ended up in the bushes.

"I don't know if it will be a write-off, there is a possibility of damage to the underside of the car."

The accident happened near his former home in the old mining village of Cwm, near Ebbw Vale, south Wales.

He was driving to his new house in the plush Lisvane area of Cardiff in the car, which does 0-60 in under 4 seconds.

Williams is the British champion as well as world No.1

"I'm moving house, and the car was one of the last things to go down," he said.

Mr Williams, who stands at number one in the world rankings, has made more than �2m in prize money during his career, and has always shown a love of sports cars.

He has had a series of powerful cars, thanks to a successful career on the green baize.

He owns a �120,000 red Ferrari 355, a BMW, and a sporty Subaru P1 Impreza as part of his collection.

He also recently bought a new 160mph superbike - a brand new blue Yamaha R6.

Examination

The British-made Noble M12 was bought by Mark only three months ago.

It was taken away on the back of a rescue vehicle to be examined by company engineers.

The Noble M12 GTO is powered by a 310 hp 2.5 litre engine with twin-turbochargers that take it from 0-60 mph in just 3.9 seconds.

It can reach 100 mph in under 10 seconds.

When he bought it, Williams said it was "one of the fastest cars you will ever see."

The supercar is hand-built by specialist motor company Noble Moy, based in Leicestershire, which has just 15 employees.

BBC's Top Gear motoring expert Jeremy Clarkson said: "No other car makes such an amazing noise."