Andy Baddeley heaped praise on the crowd in the Olympic Stadium after he progressed to the semi finals of the 1500m tonight.

The Harrow Athletic Club member advanced from Heat Two in a time of 3.40.34, handing him sixth place and the final automatic qualification spot.

Baddeley joins British team-mate Ross Murray in Sunday’s semi final line-up as the duo return to the stadium seeking a place in Tuesday’s final.

And the 30-year-old was blown away by the atmosphere created by the vocal home support.

He said: “It is a cliché now isn’t it? But it is the most unbelievable thing ever.

“I said in an interview a few weeks ago that the best crowd I had ever run in before was the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne – 83,000 people going nuts in a race which (Craig) Mottram was in – but then this is something else.

“It’s on another level. It’s so noisy. It is unbelievable.”