Great Britain's Olympic and Paralympic stars think they should get money for the medals they win.

And they have also urged London 2012 organisers to find creative ways to fill empty seats at the next summer Games.

Those were some of the views of British athletes who competed in Beijing Their opinions were gathered by questionnaire and included in reports produced by the British Athletes Commission (BAC), which represents top-class athletes.

There is a call on the Government, UK Sport and the British Olympic Association (BOA) to co-ordinate a central pot from various bodies, including sponsors, to reward high performance for all athletes regardless of their sport.

Among the Olympians, 87 per cent felt that athletes should be paid money for any medals they win.

This reward should be funded by the Government according to 52 per cent of the Olympians, while 17 per cent said sponsors should foot the bill, 15 per cent said the lottery should pay, and eight per cent thought the sport national governing bodies or the BOA should cover this payment.

One noted: "More incentives, it hurts when you hear of other nations getting better bonuses.''

Britain is one of the few top-10 medal nations at the Olympics without such a scheme. Some sports have specific sponsors who provide money for medals.

Among the Paralympians, 73 per cent thought athletes should be paid money for the medals that they win. There were 29 per cent of athletes who said their sport currently had a "money for medals'' reward system but only half knew how much money was given.

It was found that 34 per cent of Paralympians felt the Government should fund rewards for medals, 23 per cent said the lottery, 20 per cent said sponsors, 16 per cent said ParalympicsGB and seven per cent from national governing bodies.

One Paralympian said: "I believe if the money is available it should be done. A set pot should be established before and then performance bonuses can come from there.''

BAC chief executive Pete Gardner said: "No-one believes that money for medals will produce more champions. It is not why the athletes do their sport.

"In the current climate it is also probably not a realistic option because there is not enough money to act as a top-up.

"They feel it is something that would be nice to have if the money become available. They also feel that London 2012 will produce a brilliant Games.''

Among the Olympians, a third said they wanted to see transport improvements with some saying transport efficiency at the 2012 Games was of some real concern.

Another problem in Beijing was the ticketing allocation for athletes and their families.

One athlete stated: "Brilliant experience. Great Team GB spirit - much more interaction and support between different sports. Could have been more athlete tickets to spectate - was hard to go and support other sports.''

The athletes called for an "innovative approach'' to filling empty seats.

If the athlete areas are not full 30 minutes after the event has started, athletes waiting at the venue should be allowed the seats, they suggested.

The reports gave an insight into the lives and finances of Britain's top amateur athletes, showing that 13 per cent of female and 27 per cent of male Olympians were in debt as a result of being sports stars. Working athletes earned an average of £13,927.

Just 21 per cent said they paid into a pension but there were big differences between the wealth of their sports. One athlete stated the amount they received would not stretch to a pension let alone allow them to train full time, while another said their "sport is one of the best funded nations in the world''.

In total 66 per cent said they were satisfied with the current athlete funding system, 28 per cent said they were dissatisfied.

But overall it was felt that athlete funding should be linked to inflation. It was suggested that UK Sport should ensure that funding for world-class athletes should be enough for them "to train full-time to pursue a podium place without finishing their career in debt''.

There were also calls for athletes to have unrestricted commercial opportunities to top up their income and to find out why male athletes have higher incomes than women.

The average annual income for a Paralympic athlete in Beijing was £22,850 with an average lottery funding of £8,725. They called for clarity on the level of grants awarded and fairness with regard to payments for funding for team and individual sports.

Standards of facilities and the warmth of the Chinese welcome were applauded but there were various aspects that could be improved for London 2012.

Among the Paralympians, 44 per cent said they would like to see improved Paralympic Village and accommodation, 21 per cent would like improved facilities, while 18 per cent each hoped for improvements to transport or the opening and closing ceremonies.

BOA chief executive Andy Hunt said: "Feedback from athletes is invaluable for the BOA and the recommendations made in this report will help us to improve the services we provide to Team GB in the future.''

ParalympicsGB chief executive Phil Lane said: "We are especially pleased with the athletes' high level of satisfaction with ParalympicsGB at the Beijing Games. We will be looking closely at the recommendations made in the report and working with our partners to improve on our already high standards of service in 2012.''