THE NATIONAL Lottery could be used to bail out the London 2012 Olympics after a long history of botched costing estimates, a Dundee-based sports organisation claimed yesterday.

The warning was issued in the wake of figures showing that the budget for the Games has soared to nearly £10 billion, almost four times more than was originally thought.

A staggering £2.2 billion is to come from the National Lottery, a figure that now includes an extra £675 million to help to plug the shortfall.

Much of the problem surrounds a doubling in the cost of building work and there is deepening concern the move could lead to grassroots sporting bodies and good causes encountering greater difficulty securing grants from the fund.

Alison Moore Gwyn, chief executive of the National Playing Fields Association, said the initial estimate of £2.4 billion was always unrealistic.

She said costing must be monitored closely so that it did not spiral out of control even further. “I was always set against using the Lottery to the extent it has, though I am glad some has been kept back for good causes,” she said.

“We have a very generous Lottery grant, which is already committed but we are obviously very disappointed we will have less of a chance of getting more from the Lottery in the lead-up to the Olympics. But hopefully we will all benefit from that.

“I think that it now has to be watched. There has to be a genuine development in the east of London and a clear dividing line so that budgets are appropriately divided.”

Colin Rennie, the NPFA’s spokesman north of the border, said his organisation was in discussions with the Government to ensure the benefits of the Olympics are felt in Scotland.

He pointed to the Millennium Dome disaster as a perfect example of a financial black hole from which none of the promised spin-off benefits materialised.

Mr Rennie said he would be very concerned if Scotland were to lose out as a result of the Olympics.

“In Scotland we are straddling two horses because there is a potential to have the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, if the bid is successful,” he said.

Netball Scotland said organisations north of the border should not be overly critical because a successful Commonwealth bid could see the Scottish Executive lean on the Lottery.

General manager Emily Salvesen admitted smaller sporting organisations and other good causes could feel the pinch but claimed it was too early to know.

“Glasgow will probably be relying on Lottery funding as well so we might want to be positive,” she said. “We might benefit in the future.”