The campaign was launched at the Olympic Park last March by the Jowell and London 2012 chairman Sebastian Coe.

As a thank-you for giving up their time for community work, devoted volunteers were promised to be in line for one of the 2,012 pairs of tickets for the dress rehearsal for the London 2012 Olympic opening ceremony.

The 25th Hour campaign was based on the idea that everyone can find an extra hour or more to make a difference.

The tickets were to have been among a range of Olympic-themed awards for "exceptional time givers".

The scheme was backed by London Mayor Boris Johnson and several personalities, including Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson, Britain's most successful ever Pralympian and trustee of v - The National Young Volunteers' Service.

It is to be replaced, it was announced today, by the £135 million Places People Play scheme launched by Sport and Olympics Minister Hugh Robertson last November, which is aimed at bolstering grassroots projects and events.

A spokesman for the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) said: "After careful consideration, the Government has decided not to continue the 25th Hour Programme.

"Instead, the focus going forward will be on getting more people involved in sport as volunteers and coaches, through the Places People Play initiative.

"The new Sports Leaders Scheme aims to recruit, train and deploy 40,000 new volunteers to help organise sports activities in their communities."

In July last year, shortly after the Coalition Government replaced Labour, the DCMS announced that they were scrapping a scheme to provide free swimming for the under-16s and over-60s.

It had been trumpted by Jowell as one of the key legacies of London hosting the Olympics and Paralympics in 2012, but was part of £73 million ($108 million) worth of cuts announced by the Government.

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