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.

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