Finally, a bed that fits Crouch

It is the news all England football fans have been waiting for the Germans have finally found a bed long enough to fit striker Peter Crouch.

The drama of Wayne Rooney's foot aside, Crouch's long legs were threatening to cause problems for England at their World Cup base.

Managers brought in 60 new king-size beds for the players as part of a huge renovation - but found they were too short for the 6ft 7in (2 metres) Liverpool man.

Now his comfort has been assured after bosses specially ordered the largest bed manufactured in Germany. While the rest of the players have 2m beds in their rooms, Crouch's is 2.21m (7ft 3in).

Hotel manager Michael Kaspar said: "This is the largest bed you can buy in Germany anything larger and it would have to have been custom made."

The 25-year-old forward can now stretch out after a day's training . . . or dancing. Crouch is the team's form striker after scoring a hat-trick in England's friendly against Jamaica on Saturday and has started a new craze with the robotic dance moves that have become his trademark celebration.

He has also inspired the Kop anthem "He's big, he's red, his feet stick out the bed."

The squad are staying at five-star Schlosshotel Buehlerhoehe in Baden-Baden and had their first training session in Germany yesterday.

They were greeted last night by all 27 staff of the hotel, who were said to be 'overwhelmed" by the stars. One source said: "Nelson Mandela and Bill Clinton have stayed here but the staff have never seen so many famous faces all in one room at once."