Old habits die hard as Germans leave team GB standing

Berlin calling: German handball players take over the red phone box that marks the British block of the Olympic village

Matthew Beard|Sports News Correspondent5 April 2012

This red public telephone box was meant to be a totem of Britishness, marking out the team's territory in the Olympic village.

But as these pictures reveal, the Germans, a much larger squad who are billeted in the neighbouring block, have already taken over.

As they were taking a stroll this morning the women's handball team moved in, while much of the 300-strong Team GB were sleeping off their jet lag.

In an act of gentle provocation, they even gave a Winston Churchill-style "V" sign for Olympic victory.

Two of the German squad occupied a bench intended for the British, leaving a couple of our hockey players standing. The remainder moved off clutching towels, presumably to reserve their places on loungers around the indoor pool.

Sabine Englert, 26, from Aschaffenburg, said: "I love these phone boxes. I saw them when I was on visits to London. It's just a shame there's no phone inside otherwise I could try to call home."

The phone box is in keeping with village tradition where the 200-plus squads mark their apartment block with national symbols and flags. Last week teenage diving prodigy Tom Daley posed for pictures in the box at its official "launch". Meanwhile, as many of the Britons dozed, their counterparts from France and Brazil hit the village merchandise shop.

With several days until their events start, the athletes have plenty of time on their hands to try out the official merchandise. There was a brisk trade in £8 Olympic T-shirts and handbags (£10) though the Chinese dresses (£50) bearing the Olympic logo appeared not to be shifting.

Activity in the village, half a mile from the Olympic Green, is expected to peak tomorrow, by which time the majority of its 10,000 athlete residents will have moved in. The US and China have the biggest squads with about 600 athletes each.

Earlier today, security was stepped up as the Iraqi team arrived after a heroes' welcome from expats at the airport.

Olympic tradition dictates that all athletes competing in the city live in the village with no exceptions made for millionaire footballers, sprinters or basketball players.