THE safety of British competitors heading to the Winter Games in Sochi is the "highest priority", the British Olympics Association has said, after a second suicide bombing in Russia.

Fourteen people were killed when the blast happened on a trolleybus in Volgograd yesterday, a day after 17 people died in a suicide attack at the city's main railway station.

With the Winter Olympics due to open on February 7 in Sochi, about 400 miles from Volgograd, the BOA described the terror attacks as "a painful reminder of the threats that exist in our world today".

A spokesman said: "As with every Olympic Games - winter and summer - it is the responsibility of security officials at the national level, working in close co-ordination with regional and local authorities and the Games Organising Committee, to ensure the environment is as safe and secure as possible."

Members of Team GB include the men's and women's curling teams as well as short-track speed skater Elise Christie.