HERITAGE enthusiasts had a glimpse into the town's past by visiting a former snooker hall underneath Radcliffe Market.

David Kerwin and Carol Jenkins, of Radcliffe Heritage Society, joined Cllr Catherine Preston by taking a tour of The Grot, where former snooker world champion John Spencer famously played, on Friday.

Mr Kerwin was keen to explore the area, which had also housed a toffee factory, after the Boxing Day floods and says it was a fascinating trip down Memory Lane.

He told the Radcliffe Times: "It was fantastic, it's like another world down there. You can still see the cobbled floors and the red stone wall.

"It was a snooker hall where John Spencer used to play and train, and and it was also a toffee factory, which is how I remember it from when I was a kid.

"I have now asked our members if they had any relatives who used to work down there so we can keep finding out more about it.

"If you look through all of the pictures we took, you can see that they cover a huge number of years.

"I have wanted to go down there for a while, but the floods brought it to my mind again. It was a very, very interesting day and well worth a visit for historians."

Cllr Preston praised the work done by clean-up crews who visited the site after the floods.

She said: "They have done a smashing job, it really struck me how well they had cleaned it up.

"The scope for what could be done down there has really impressed me as well. The potential is wonderful, and in an ideal world you would want someone to come in with £10 million and turn it into a lovely place for the people of Radcliffe."

Mr Kerwin added: "It's a shame that they probably won't be able to put anything new down there, because I imagine the flood insurance alone would be astronomical.

"It has been empty for a long, long time, over 20 years I would say. A relative of mine once wanted to open a nightclub down there but the plans got turned down.

"It would be brilliant if some business could come in and take it over, but I don't know if it would be possible."