NEARLY £7,000 of taxpayers' money has been spent on Olympic Games tickets by the council.

It includes six tickets to the opening ceremony and sets of two seats for multiple events including the men's 100 metre final costing £295 each.

This is despite the fact that Waltham Forest Council said in March it would not be buying any VIP tickets it had been allocated for the 2012 games.

The information has been published on the whatdotheyknow.com website following a Freedom of Information request by researcher Colin Nesbitt.

A short statement accompanying the figures from the council's 2012 "Programme Manager" Jon Widdows said: "The tickets that the council has purchased will be given to residents who have made a significant contribution to the borough, such as recipients of awards at our Love Your Borough event."

Out of 1.8million people who applied for the 6.6million publicly available tickets only 45 per cent were successful.

The ticketing scheme has come under fire with critics claiming people living in mainland European countries such as France were able to buy them more easily than residents in east London.

According to the Freedom of Information reuqest, tickets purchased by Waltham Forest Council include:

- Two men's 1,500 metre final tickets costing (in total) £300

- Two women's hockey final tickets costing £190

- Two diving final tickets for the men’s 10 metre synchro event costing £370

- Two men's 100 metre relay final tickets costing £590

- Two closing ceremony tickets costing £300

In total, 44 tickets were purchased costing a total of £6,970.

The Guardian is awaiting a comment from the council.

What do you think? Did you try unsuccessfully to get tickets? Contact reporter Daniel Binns on 0779 547 6625 or via email at dbinns@london.newsquest.co.uk

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