British touts strike gold at Vancouver Winter Olympics

British touts have been charging a mark-up of up to 1,000 per cent for top events at the Winter Olympics.

Scores of "scalpers" from London, Liverpool and Birmingham have been exploiting Canada's lax anti-touting laws and soaring local demand.

Touts enjoyed a huge windfall last night as ice hockey fans desperate for a seat at the Canada versus United States grudge match paid hugely inflated prices.

Touts were charging £30,000 for a pair of front row tickets nominally worth £3,000.

The postponement of last weekend's downhill skiing events provided a further windfall as some ticketholders looked for a quick sale if they could not attend the rescheduled event.