Bedding in at Olympic Village: Olympian Matthew Pinsent helps lift in the first of 16,000 beds to be installed in Village apartments. Photo: Dave Poultney

Four times Olympic gold medallist Matthew Pinsent was on-hand at Stratford’s Olympic Park yesterday to help start the move of more than 16,000 beds into the athletes and team officials apartments for this summer’s sports spectacular.

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It will also involve installing 64,000 bed sheets and 21,000 pillows, 9,000 wardrobes and more than 170,000 coat hangers

Some 11,000 sofas will be ferried in along with 5,000 bins and 5,000 toilet brushes while each apartment with have a television and wi-fi services.

ODA Games chiefs are officially handing over the Village site to organisers Locog today - six months ahead of schedule.

With it came the temporary 24-hour main dining facility with 5,000 seats, Village Plaza Café to make up the largest peacetime catering operation in the world with up to 60,000 meals served daily,

along with essential shops and services including general store, bank, beauty and grooming salon, internet lounge and entertainment centre.

It has provided work for more than 16,500 people, through more than 46,000 have worked on the Olympic Park and Village during construction.

ODA Chairman John Armitt stressed the Village was built by companies from every part of the UK while after the Games, the Village will create a legacy of 2,818 new homes.