Wider seats have been specified for the London 2012 Olympics so that Britain’s growing population can squeeze in to watch the swimming and diving during the games.

Edwin Shirley Staging business development director Jeff Burke said that although the initial capital cost is greater, the ODA’s decision to go with larger seats made good business sense.

The English may be obsessed with sport - but for half of the population that does not go beyond picking up the remote control.

A study of nearly 364,000 people in every corner of the country, commissioned by Sport England, reveals half of the population are doing no exercise at all.