London Olympic mascot Wenlock comes home

London Olympic mascot Wenlock returned home to cheer on 350 youngsters taking part in a sports festival in Shropshire.

The children, from nine schools across the county, tried their hands at Olympic sports including sprinting, jumping and throwing at William Brookes School in Much Wenlock yesterday.

Wenlock - who along with Mandeville was unveiled as the London 2012 mascot in May - arrived to cheer the children on and to spy some potential future Olympians.

Carol Jardine, head of PE at William Brookes School, saw first-hand the delight on the pupils' faces as Wenlock wowed the crowds during the event.

"It was brilliant and it was made extra special with the fact that Wenlock came home for the first time to help us all enjoy the day," she said.

"The kids all thought he was brilliant and they all had a big smile on their faces when he turned up.

"They kept saying how they thought he looked really cool and how great he will be at the 2012 Olympics.

"All the kids had great fun and the atmosphere was amazing.

"It has been a great success and everyone involved - including us the organisers - had a great day."

Much Wenlock is considered by many as the birthplace of the modern Olympics.

Baron Pierre de Coubertin, the founder of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), visited the town in 1890 and took inspiration from the annual Wenlock Olympic Games organised by Dr William Penny Brookes, a local doctor, to "promote the moral, physical and intellectual improvement of the inhabitants".