TALENT spotting the youngsters to follow in the footsteps of Tim Henman and Virginia Wade is the aim of former Ebbw Vale steelworker Chris Hill.

Tennis ace Chris, from Abertillery, who has made it to the top of the British game while holding down a career at the works, has now moved full time on to the courts after the plant closure this year.

A £1,400 grant from the UK Steel Enterprise Kick Start Fund, following advice and support from Venture Wales and Blaenau Gwent county borough, has enabled him to establish himself in self-employment as a tennis coach.

In his age group, Chris is Welsh captain and number 9 in Britain, with a world ranking of 141. In the latest British Championships at Wimbledon he got through to the last 16 in singles and the semi-finals of the doubles.

"I had always wanted to be full time in tennis, and when the works closed it seemed to be the right time," he said.

Chris already coaches at Caerphilly and Six Bells Lawn Tennis Clubs, and runs programmes for Blaenau Gwent county borough. He plans to extend his work around South Wales, and wants to develop the increasingly popular mini-tennis programmes which can be run indoors through the winter.

"Getting players interested at an early age is vital, and that is why mini-tennis is so important," said Chris. "I want to help bring more people into the game, as well as finding talented young players for the future.

"There's no doubt that British tennis can do with some new blood if we are to get more players into the big tournaments and we need to start at the grass roots."

The UK Steel Enterprise Kick Start Fund was launched last year and is the primary source of grant assistance available to fledgling companies in Blaenau Gwent. Around a dozen successful small businesses have been launched with its help, and many of the people involved have been former steelworkers. UK Steel Enterprise is a Corus subsidiary.

Regional manager David Hughes said: "The fund is proving an important stepping stone for start-up companies, many of which would not be able to launch without it. We have been delighted by the level of take up."

And Chris Jarvis, of Venture Wales, said: "We are delighted to offer our support and training to enable Chris to develop his talents into a full time, self-employed opportunity.

* The future of the Hill family's tennis fortunes look highly promising, too, as Chris's son, Darren, takes to the courts. When they were at Wimbledon practising their serves, Darren put one in at 108mph. The next player up was Pat Cash, and he beat Darren by only 2 mph!

* Pictured: Tennis ace and former steelworker Chris Hill, left, who has received help from Chris Jarvis, of Venture Wales, Ed Ryan, of Blaenau Gwent borough council, and Nigel Gabriel, of UK Steel Enterprise, far right