Paul Collier will become the youngest-ever referee to take charge of an Embassy World Championship final this weekend - just four months after surviving a horror car crash.

Collier, 33, was driving to officiate at a Premier League fixture at Greenock in January when a car ploughed into the back of him and sent his vehicle spinning some 60 yards over a roundabout.

He was fortunate to escape with only a broken nose and a sore neck and shoulder and defied the pain to continue refereeing.

Now he will don the white gloves on Sunday for the showpiece at The Crucible and surpass the record set in the 2003 Mark Williams-Ken Doherty final of 36-year-old Jan Verhaas.

Collier, who began refereeing at the age of 16, said: "The accident was very frightening. I broke my nose and had a very sore neck and shoulder.

"I was supposed to be refereeing three more matches and they could have brought someone else in but I decided I would rather persevere.

"I had some treatment from a physiotherapist and she told me that as long as I kept moving I should be okay. It was a bit painful but I got through it.

"Now I've got the highlight of my career to look forward to on Sunday. When I started professionally, my ambition was to referee the Welsh Open final and I've done that twice.

"But the world final is the big one. I was watching Crucible finals 20 years ago so it is amazing to think I'll be refereeing one."

Collier, who started refereeing at the age of 16, is no slouch as a player. He plays for Newport and has made several competitive centuries.