Michaela Tabb, who became the first woman to referee in the Embassy World Championships at the Crucible, described the occasion as "one of the best moments of my life".

The 35-year-old mother-of-one took charge of a first-round meeting between fellow Scot Drew Henry and Mark King.

Afterwards the Dunfermline-based official received a vote of confidence from Henry, who said: "Michaela will one day referee the final I'm sure. She's a very good referee - though I would say that because I won the game."

"I've got to say though it was one of the best moments of my life. And towards the end of the first frame I began to settle down and felt I could have been refereeing in any other arena. I guess that was a good sign," said Tabb, who progressed into snooker from pool and has appeared in all this season's leading ranking tournaments.