Former Leicester snooker star declared bankrupt
Leicester’s former world number 7 snooker player Willie Thorne has been handed a six-year bankruptcy restriction from 1 August 2016 for borrowing £453,200 from friends and acquaintances that he knew he couldn’t pay back.
He spent the money on gambling which has resulted in his bankruptcy which he filed on his own petition with a deficiency of £601,204.
This follows an investigation by the Insolvency Service.
A bankruptcy restrictions order (BRO) was made by the court, as directed by the Secretary of State for Business Innovation and Skills, on 1 August 2016 against Thorne (62) ordering him to be bound for six years, by the restrictions set out in insolvency law that a bankrupt is subject to until they are discharged from bankruptcy – normally 12 months – until 2022.
Between March 2012 and March 2015, at a time when he was insolvent with existing debts of approximately £127,285, Thorne borrowed at least £453,200 from a number of friends and acquaintances. All were meant to be short term loans to be repaid in a matter of weeks. Instead Thorne used the money he borrowed to gamble with no realistic expectation that he would be able to honour his agreement to repay the sums borrowed as originally stated.
Gerard O’Hare, an official receiver at the Insolvency Service said: “Where a bankrupt has taken undue risks with creditors’ money, he should not expect to do so without repercussions, particularly when others suffer financial loss as a result.
“A bankruptcy restriction in these circumstances will serve to provide creditors with a degree of protection, and it will also act as a deterrent to the bankrupt not to act in a similar manner in the future.
“On 19 May 2015 Thorne submitted a petition for his own bankruptcy with a deficiency of £601,204. In addition Thorne said that he has other personal borrowing estimated to total £301,000.
Thorne has been unable to provide any contact details for these individuals therefore it has not been possible to include them within the list of identified creditors.
Thorne was interviewed at the Official Receiver’s office at which time he stated that he had a serious gambling addiction for over 25 years and estimated he has borrowed approximately £1m from various friends over the last two years and spent all the money he borrowed to fund his gambling habit.
Thorne told the individuals he was borrowing from that the loan was to ease short term cash flow problems and would be repaid within two months. All of the money was used to gamble and none of the people Mr Thorne borrowed money from received any money back.
Thorne has no assets and as such there is unlikely to be any money for his creditors.
Thorne shot to fame in the 1980s, reaching 7 in the world snooker rankings. He won one ranking tournament, the Classic, in 1985.
He currently lives in Broughton Astley near Leicester and is a self-employed after-dinner speaker.
