The four-day cones holiday

If you got into work 15 minutes earlier today, here's why: it's all down to the officials of the International Olympic Committee who are visiting the capital on a four-day tour of inspection.

What they see will be crucial in determining how the OIC's 117 members vote in July when they decide which of five cities will host the 2012 spectacular.

To ensure they view London at its best, borough engineers across the city have been asked to "dump the roadworks".

Cones have been removed, hole-digging operations suspended and pavement improvements set aside to ensure roads appear as free-flowing as possible.

The Mayor's Transport for London department is so keen to highlight the benefits of bringing the Olympics to the capital it has suspended some of its own roadworks too. A spokesman said: "We have sought - quite sensibly - to minimise disruption on the network over the period of the IOC's visit."