Snooker player Stephen Hendry has laid bare his family's heartbreak following the stillbirth of his son in 2003.

In his upcoming autobiography Me and the Table , Hendry describes how he was given the tragic news in a phone call from his tearful wife following a World Championships defeat that year.

The couple had been having IVF as they tried for a second child to join Blaine, born in 1996.

The pair would go on to have another son, Carter, the following year.

But burying their unborn child was a numbing pain shared by the childhood sweethearts.

Stephen and Mandy wanted Blaine to have a little brother or sister

Any disappointment I feel after my quarter final defeat in the 2003 World Championship is dwarfed by a phone call from Mandy. She is in tears and her words shock me to the core.

“It’s the baby,” she says. “We’ve lost it. I thought something was wrong, I had a test and it’s dead inside me.”

I go home immediately, numb with pain and sorrow.

Since he was born, Mandy and I have hoped to give Blaine a brother or sister. We had three tries with IVF and the disappointment and heartbreak increased with each ‘not pregnant’ result.

Scotland's Stephen Hendry at the table (
Image:
PA)

In the early part of 2003, we finally received some good news that Mandy was expecting. I think of the much-wanted second child. Now, instead of looking forward to celebrating a new life, we will be planning a funeral.

We are heartbroken, and I wander round the house in shock. The day comes, and Mandy goes into hospital to give birth. It’s a boy.

We call him Joseph and arrange a funeral in the church close to our house. I carry the small coffin in my arms. He is laid to rest in the churchyard.

Slowly, Mandy and I try to heal ourselves, and the awful experience we’ve been through brings us closer.

Stephen Hendry is telling his story in a new autobiography (
Image:
Adam Lawrence)

We take walks on the nearby beach with our dogs , not really talking, just slowly going through all that has happened and trying to process it.

When I feel ready I head back to the practice table. Snooker is my sanctuary and always has been.