Ronnie O'Sullivan and son involved in M1 car crash hours after Snooker World Championship final

The defeated finalist and his son were not seriously hurt

Ronnie O'Sullivan was involved in a car crash on the M1, just hours after losing last night's Snooker World Championship final.

The snooker player was returning home to London with his six-year-old son Ronnie Jnr in the early hours of this morning following his 18-14 defeat to Mark Selby at the Crucible in Sheffield.

The two-seater Audi R8 sports car O'Sullivan was driving span out of control near Leicester at around 1.30am before hitting the central reservation.

Both O'Sullivan and his son are understood to have escaped without serious injury.

A police spokeswoman said: "We would not identify those involved in a road traffic collision but we did have a crash on the M1 southbound at about 1.30 in the morning. There was an adult and a child in that vehicle."

O'Sullivan was bidding to win his sixth World Championship earlier in the evening but could do nothing to halt a dramatic fightback by Selby.

After his defeat, the 38-year-old was in contemplative mood.

"He out-fought me, out-battled me and I’ve got no complaints. I fought my hardest," O'Sullivan said at the Crucible.

He added: "That’s the nature of sport. If you buy a raffle ticket and sign up to be a sportsman you accept the losses as well as the wins. You can’t have it all your own way all the time. I’ve had some great wins here but losing is part of the sport and you accept it. You have to go away, lick your wounds and try and go one better next time."