Anger as sports fans miss out on Olympics

The blues are setting in for many Black Country sports fans whose Olympic dreams have been dashed after they failed to win tickets for the London 2012 games.

And there is frustration that big business and even the Government have snaffled up many of the tickets. There were a total of 20 million applications made for the 6.6 million tickets available for the games.

Among those who lost out are Kingswinford grandmother Janice Clews, aged 64, and Ben Hingley, of Wolverhampton.

Janice had been saving up £25 a month for more than five years in the hope of going to some of the athletics, gymnastics, swimming and cycling events.

She had amassed a total of £2,000 to cover entry fees and accommodation in London and had bid for tickets to 18 events for herself and members of her family.

But by Wednesday, when no money had been debited from her bank account, she realised she had been unsuccessful and she is now crestfallen.

"I feel very disappointed and let down," said Janice, who recently retired from her job as a sales consultant for a Dudley furniture store. I have been saving up ever since the London Olympics were announced and, at the time, I was newly divorced, so it's often been hard to spare that £25 a month. I am a sports fanatic, very patriotic and it was my dream to go to the Olympics."

Ben Hingley, of Shenstone Court, Penn Fields, was left disappointed after hearing he had got none of the tickets he applied for.

Mr Hingley tried to buy tickets together worth £670 for the diving, athletics, cycling, trampolining and the opening ceremony.

The sales manager at Burke Bros Moving Group in Wolverhampton, said: "I'm 64 now so I'm never going to see another Olympics in this country. I'm really disappointed."

Sports fans in the West Midlands hoping to attend the Olympics were competing against the Government's bid for 9,000 tickets for itself. Of these, 6,000 will be available for ministers and top officials to entertain "international and domestic political and business leaders, dignitaries and others".