Australian swimmer Ian Thorpe 'The Thorpedo'A WOOTTON Bassett surveyor is flying out to Athens on Friday to work as a volunteer press officer at the Olympic games.

George Paton, 35, was one of 160,000 applicants for 55,000 positions. Only 250 volunteers from the United Kingdom were chosen.

George, a partner in surveyors' firm WebbPaton, worked as a volunteer at the hockey stadium at the Commonwealth Games two years ago in Manchester.

In Athens he will be working at the swimming pool.

He said: "I went out for an interview last September in Athens at the Olympic headquarters. When they offered me the job I thought it was for hockey again, but three weeks ago I heard I had been allocated the swimming.

"I was pleased it's a major sport more major than hockey."

George will be working for the Olympic News Agency which provides quotes to newspapers that do not have accredited reporters at the games.

He said: "I volunteered at the Comomonwealth Games, and I put on the application form that I write my own press releases and advertisements at work, so I was made Media Centre Supervisor, in charge of 18 people.

"It involved organising press conferences, sorting out photographers for medal ceremonies and organising tickets for the press.

"I did that and enjoyed it very much, especially working with the top BBC journalists like Barry Davies and Nigel Starmer-Smith, and famous swimmers such as Adrian Moorcroft, Sharron Davies and Duncan Goodhew."

George saw a lot of similarities between commentating and his own job, surveying and valuing farms.

"The system of note-taking is so similar in my job. Nigel Starmer-Smith has a book with notes about each competitor written in different colours of ink. Younger commentators use laptops now."

George said that in many ways the Commonwealth Games was like a local village fete.

"Half an hour before the games opened everyone was rushing around with pots of paint, putting banners and advertising hoardings up.

"The paint in the press box was still wet as the Queen was arriving.

"In Athens I will be doing interviews with the swimmers, typing them up and passing them on to journalists.

"So I'll be interviewing any of the Great Britain squad who win medals."

George is particularly hoping to meet Ian Thorpe, the Australian swimmer known as the Thorpedo.

Unfortunately the midsummer heat in Athens means his young children Pippa, three, and Oliver, one, will have to stay at home in Faringdon with his wife Georgina, 38.

"Georgina is very disappointed, but I think the children will be far more interested in the presents I might bring home for them," he said.