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
BACKFLIPPING SHARK SOARS DURING SEAL HUNT

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

BOXING DAY SQUIRRELS

BOXING DAY has come early for this pair of feisty squirrels, as their Christmas party quickly turns sour .

MONKEY LOVE

PUCKERING up and enjoying some quality time, these are the most lovable monkeys on the planet .

STRIPED MARLIN SPEARS ITS CATCH

A striped marlin means business as it spots lunch and spears a small fish .

AERIAL PICTURES OF FURTHER FLOODING AS HEAVY RAIN CONTINUES

An aerial view of flooding in Gloucestershire .

BEAR AND FOX IN SHOWDOWN

This is the moment a nimble red fox and a lumbering Alaskan brown bear were locked in a tense stand-off .

ENDANGERED GORILLA BORN AT TWYCROSS ZOO

A proud gorilla mum welcomes her newborn baby western lowland gorilla, a critically endangered species .

SUNBATHING OTTER

A lazy otter finds the ideal spot to soak up the sun and sleep off his lunch .

MONKEY BATH

RAISING his foot into the air, this cheeky monkey offers an unusual wave .

BIRD ATTACK

A pair of bank myna birds fight it out in front of their ladies .

MOON ART

From shooting hoops to performing kick ups, a boy has a ball with the moon .

MOUNT BROMO METEOR SHOWER

A SPECTACULAR array of stars fills the night sky as they soar over this active volcano .