Winter Paralympics scandal erupts as curling stones are stolen just hours before start of competition

The upcoming Winter Paralympics in Milan and Cortina have been marred by an unusual incident, as two curling stones designated for the inaugural mixed doubles wheelchair competition have been stolen.

The theft, confirmed by World Curling, occurred at the Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium just ahead of the preliminary rounds, which begin on Wednesday night.

A spokesperson for World Curling told the Press Association: "Unfortunately there has been a situation where two stones were stolen from the venue. The local authorities are currently investigating."

The missing rocks had previously been used in the Olympic mixed doubles tournament.

Despite the disruption, organisers have confirmed that spare stones, brought up to the required specifications, will be used in their place.

While ParalympicsGB was informed of the situation, the incident has not affected British duo Jo Butterfield and Jason Kean, who commenced their competition against Estonia as planned.

This is the latest curling drama following accusations of cheating during last month’s Winter Olympics.

A row erupted after Sweden's men's team accused Canadian curlers of double touching their stones during a match.

In response, World Curling initially announced that two officials would monitor the hog line – the point where curlers must release the stone – for the remainder of the competition.

However, the situation escalated for Canada’s women’s team when one of their stones was removed from play for double touching during a subsequent loss to Switzerland.

Speaking to the media, Canadian female curler Rachel Homan firmly rejected the accusations.

"I think the word cheating came out of nowhere. It has nothing to do with cheating. There's no chance that Canadians would ever intentionally cheat," she stated.

“We don't do that. We're playing out there. We're fierce. You know, things happen. People burn rocks. People go over the hog line - that's just part of the sport."

Canada’s men went on to win gold at the Games, beating Team GB in the final.