Ecclestone comes up short with locals

Is the diminutive Formula One owner Bernie Ecclestone a hobbit or a dwarf? The topic is apparently the talk of the Swiss Alpine resort of Gstaad, where 10 years ago Bernie Ecclestone bought the popular Hotel Olden. At the time, locals believed Ecclestone would keep the place as it was, allowing local farmers to smoke their pipes and drink mountain liqueurs in one area, while the jet-set dined in style in the restaurant before descending to the cave below to drink and dance through the night.

However, according to Taki, the Spectator columnist and Gstaad regular, Ecclestone couldn't resist maximising his profits and chose to drive the farmers out by making the price of drinks exorbitant. Which led the local paper to describe Ecclestone as a hobbit, taking its lead from the discovery in Indonesia in 2004 of a tiny species of human, only 3ft tall - dubbed by scientists 'the hobbit'. Which in turn brought the little tycoon's friends out of their chalets and hotel suites to defend his honour.

What we know about the Indonesian discovery, says Taki, is that the 18,000-year-old remains were deemed to be modern humans with a growth disorder that left them normally proportioned but half-sized. "I once found myself on the next tennis court to Bernie," writes Taki, "and I can reliably state that, although he does have a growth disorder, he is perfectly formed. My bet is that he's a dwarf and not a hobbit at all."

For the record, Bernie stands at 5ft 2.5in.