Barry Hearn, the owner of World Snooker, is ready to fund legal action on behalf of the 400 fans who were affected by Just Stop Oil protester Edred Whittingham on Monday night.

The 25-year-old student forced the first session of the match between Rob Milkins and Joe Perry to be abandoned after storming the playing area and standing up on the table before throwing orange powered paint across the green baize.

Hearn was furious to see paying spectators so inconvenienced and he is ready to help underwrite individual civil actions against Whittingham and has also warned protesters that he will support similar actions if his other events are targeted.

The 920-capacity Crucible Theatre was sold out when the protest took place, forcing the match between Milkins and Perry to suspended until the following day. Whittingham and Margaret Reid, 52, who was bundled off the adjacent snooker table before any damage could be caused, were arrested and have been bailed until June on suspicion of criminal damage, and Hearn is willing to fund legal action for the 460 fans who were seated on that half of the arena.

“That geezer who jumped on the table, he has upset me,” Hearn told the Sportsman. “I also feel sorry for the project that he claims to represent. He did it more harm than good. But my overriding consideration is that all those people bought a ticket and had their evening spoiled. So I am going to write to the people that missed out and offer to support them, on a no-win, no-fee basis.

“And I am going to suggest they all join me in taking civil action against that young man for the cost incurred in their ticket, their travel, their food. I don’t think people should take the mick, thinking that the poor old punter can just get treated like it just doesn’t matter. I want to send a message out to anyone else who wants to try it – we will do you as well.”

Hearn, who remains the president of Matchroom Sport and had been involved in professional snooker since the late 1970s, intends to personally write to the 460 spectators who were directly affected. “It will be the small claims court and there will be an awful lot of people going,” he said. “On that night when he decided to invade our property, he effectively stole money from those people. Whether he is on a good cause or bad cause, it is nothing to do with it. I sell a million tickets a year across all my sporting events. I cannot stop what this world is turning into, but all I can say is: ‘If you mess around with my events, this is what you can expect. I am not rolling over’.

“I want people to know that someone is watching their back. And if you have paid money to be entertained and someone has stopped that from happening, I want you to get your money back.”

Matchroom Sport, of which Hearn is the founder, promotes boxing, table tennis, darts, pool, basketball, fishing, gymnastics, netball, tenpin bowling and poker.