FORMER world champion and Dartford publican Andy Fordham has withdrawn from the Lakeside World Championship after being taken ill.

Fordham, who won the competition in 2004, was taken to Frimley Green Hospital after suffering breathing difficulties as a result of a chest infection ahead of his first round match against Australia’s Simon Whitlock on Monday.

He was carried out of the venue on a stretcher and was expected to stay in hospital for a few days.

His agent Dave Richards said on Tuesday: "He’s still in hospital, he’s fine now and he’s stable. His wife Jenny has been to see him and they are now draining his right lung.

"His health has been usually good lately but he picked up the sort of chest infection a lot of people get."

The incident is the latest in the 44-year old’s eventful career. Fordham, the publican of The Rose, in Overy Street at Dartford until three weeks ago, had reached four World Championship semi-finals before his victory in the final over Mervyn King three years ago.

Ill health forced him to pull out midway through a unification match against Phil Taylor in November 2004, and he went on to appear on Celebrity Fit Club in 2005, where he lost four stones.

Richards said Fordham was due to move to a new, bigger, pub in the town, although the name of that is not at present being revealed.