A KIRKLEES police officer has told how his Olympic experience was littered with celebrity encounters.
West Yorkshire Police had 780 officers volunteer to patrol the Olympic Games.
Det Sgt Chris Piggin was one of a handful from Kirklees at the Games.
And the Dewsbury policeman said: “The location for our deployment was not disclosed until our first day down there on July 27.
“When we discovered that we were going to be in the Olympic Park, right in the centre, our excitement took some controlling.
“Patrolling the ‘jewel in the crown’ on the night of the opening ceremony, was unbelievable.
“We cleared the way for Sir Steve Redgrave to run in with the torch having been handed it by David Beckham.
“My team and I managed to meet and have photographs with the likes of Katherine Jenkins, Lennox Lewis, Chris Evans and Gary Lineker to name but a few, but my golden opportunity came later.
“One night after visiting the Velodrome with a colleague, I was making my way to the main concourse near to the stadium where we saw a dark haired woman wanting to take a photograph with us with her friends.
“While her friends were having photos, I asked her if she wanted her boyfriend in the picture, to which she replied ‘No, he’s busy’.
“I asked where he was, and she said he was at the Olympic village.
“She then went on to say he was an athlete, who was a cyclist for Team GB!
“When I asked if I knew him she said, ‘Probably, it’s Chris Hoy!’”.
Sir Chris Hoy became Team GB’s most successful athlete following the 2012 Games.
He has a total of seven Olympic medals, six gold and one silver.
