OLYMPIC KNITWITS - KNITTERS STITCHED UP BY RED TAPE

Housands of cushions handmade as gifts for Olympics athletes may go to waste after London 2012 KNITWITS stitched up volunteers by refusing to allow them to hand them out.The London Organising Committee for the Olympic Games (LOCOG) initially told volunteers from the Woolsack project that they could hand out the 5,000 cushions they had created as souvenirs for the elite stars. But now, in fear of angering commercial sponsors, they have reneged on the deal. Dedicated families and elderly and disabled members of the scheme, which was designed to give athletes a British wool based welcome gift to the games, have grafted since early last year to create the individually crafted presents. A third of the games' athletes, including members of Team GB, confirmed their interest in receiving the decorative welcome gifts with athletics stars Jessica Ennis and Marilyn Okoro posing with samples at events last year.

Other great stories
BIG FOOT 'JESUS BIRD'

THIS BIGFOOT 'Jesus bird' may look silly, but he's perfectly designed for walking on water .

I LIKE MY SALMON ROAR!

A BROWN bear wades through waters in Alaska and waits for his lunch .

OH DEER: MOMENT DEER CRASHES THROUGH WINDSCREEN OF BUS

With no luck at the front of the bus, the deer runs around the center seats trying to escape through the window – THIS is the astonishing moment a DEER crashed through the front windshield of a bus before it went hysterically running around the vehicle .

AMAZING LIGHTNING PHOTOGRAPHY

STRIKING photos capture nature at its most raw and powerful during Earth’s most electrifying event .

NOT FIT FOR DOGS - RSPCA RESCUERS FIND ANIMALS IN SHOCKING FILTH

It's incredible to think anyone could live in such horrendous squalor - yet two men have been prosecuted for keeping their homes in such revolting conditions that it was no longer fit for their animals .

HORSE BEFRIENDS ADOPTED CAT

Going for long rides through vast fields together, this twosome share an unbreakable bond .

INTIMATE PORTRAITS OF INDIANS

An Italian photographer travelled to northern India where he visited poverty stricken suburbs and captured ordinary people in a series of intimate and expressive portraits .

WAVES FROZEN IN TIME

Beautiful turquoise waves rise and fall in a series of stunning images taken along the coastline of south-eastern Australia .

BACKFLIPPING SHARK SOARS DURING SEAL HUNT

Exploding out of the water, a great white shark performs a backflip during a hunt for seals .

AMAZING LANDSCAPES

From giant mountains to vast deserts, an American photographer spent a year capturing the diverse and beautiful landscape of the United States .

ABANDONED TAVERN AND FARM SHOP

STOOD side by side next to a busy road, these buildings were once bustling with life .

DERELICT MANSION

With an abandoned tricycle sitting in an empty corridor, this derelict but once grand mansion could be the setting for The Shining .