Future gymnasts, runners and swimmers have been running rings around their nursery garden to celebrate the Olympics with their own miniature tournament.

Staff at Busy Bees nursery in Shenley have been introducing children to new sports and games as they prepare for one of the most exciting international sporting events.

The 2016 Summer Olympics, which took place in Rio de Janeiro, has a record number of countries participating as more than 10,500 athletes compete for medals in 28 Olympic sports.

In preparation for the tournament, the children learnt all about some of the biggest sporting heroes before taking to the nursery garden to try some of the activities for themselves.

Nursery manager Zara Habib said: “Many of the children will be too young to remember the last Olympics so it’s a very exciting thing for them to experience it.

“Enthusiasm for sport is what we are hoping to capture as we bring the event to life in the nursery environment as it helps to encourage children to try sports they might not have discovered otherwise.

“By hosting our own miniature Olympic Games event we have the opportunity to build on skills like sharing, hand-eye co-ordination and learning how to be part of a team, which are all important to a child’s overall development.

“It’s not about winning or losing for us, it’s about getting out into the fresh air and enjoying learning some new games.”