Gardening to be part of Olympics activity target

Gardening will count in the Government's target to get two million people more active in the run-up to the London 2012 Olympics.

The aim is to get a million people involved in sport and the rest to become more physically active as part of the legacy of hosting the Games. Dance, active conservation and gardening will be included among the activities promoted, the Sports minister, Gerry Sutcliffe, said in response to a parliamentary question. The Liberal Democrat Olympics spokesman, Tom Brake, suggested the Government was downgrading its targets. He said: "It seems ministers are so desperate to justify the expense of the Games that they will now include anything in their claims for a sporting legacy. Unless it turns out there are plans to introduce mowing the lawn and bulb planting as Olympic events, then we'll have to assume that the Government is watering down targets because it knows they can't be met."