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International Olympic Committee (IOC) member Sergei Bubka has urged London Olympic organisers to keep their word and retain the 2012 stadium’s running track after the Games.

Football clubs West Ham and Tottenham are the preferred bidders for the venue, but Spurs has made it clear it intends to rip out the track.

However, Bubka said: "We shook hands and had a deal. In 2005, it was guaranteed to us the track would stay – this is a matter of dignity."

Bubka insisted he had received more guarantees the track would be kept during a three-day inspection visit in September before London withdrew its bid to host the 2015 athletics World Championships.

"I was the chairman of the evaluation commission for London and Beijing 2015, and they told us the track would remain – I saw it written in documents," added Bubka, who is also an International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) senior vice-president.

"The United Kingdom has an unbelievable story of athletics [achievements] and I can't believe we are talking about such a thing," continued the pole vault world record holder, who was speaking at an IAAF council meeting.

Meanwhile, Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy has criticised the lack of public money that has been made available for the club's proposed new stadium.

Spurs is hoping to move from White Hart Lane to either a new purpose-built ground close to the current site or the Olympic Stadium.

"This development has not attracted a penny of public money," said Levy, referring to the new site in Tottenham. "Arsenal and Wembley were both awarded public sector assistance.

"Our development has the potential to kickstart regeneration in one of the most deprived boroughs in London, where land values are poor and yet no regeneration monies are available to it."

Last week, Tottenham's proposal to take over London's Olympic Stadium with AEG after the Games in 2012 was branded as "completely unacceptable" by UK Athletics.