The 2012 Olympics and Paralympics may be a fading memory but the Olympic spirit lives on in Ilkley.

Not only have four Ilkley residents won medals in the Special Olympics but the Outside the Box Cafe on Bridge Lane is now home to a sofa used in the London Olympic Village.

The local athletes competed in the 2013 Special Olympics Great Britain National Summer Games, recently held in Bath and came back home with gold, silver and bronze medals.

Ben Horner won gold and silver medals in the golf tournament with some fantastic putting and hopes to build on this success in further competitions to be held in Inverness next year.

A brilliant performance against stiff competition in the backstroke swimming competition landed Ashley Dale a gold medal. Simon Waggett’s very impressive show of strength and focus in the power-lifting was rewarded with a silver and Steven Whiteside’s remarkable equestrian skills won him a bronze medal in the horse riding.

All four athletes were really pleased with their performances and are looking forward to continuing with their training with an eye on the next Special Olympics Summer Games to be held in Los Angeles in 2015.

Three of the four are members of the Outside the Box Cafe in Ilkley, where just last week they took delivery of an Olympic sofa.