'After giving my all you get idiots sending me this': Tom Daley's anger at Twitter troll who claims he let his late father down after finishing fourth in Olympic diving final
British pair lead at half-way point but slip off the pace with tougher final dives
China's Yuan Cao and Yanquan Zhang win by a massive margin
Prime Minister David Cameron among packed crowd at Aquatics Centre
Daley later apologises on Twitter and says: 'We tried our best'
An estimated 1,500 people gathered in the centre of Daley's home city of Plymouth to watch the teenage star in action
By Rob Preece, Adam Shergold and Anthony Bond
Diving star Tom Daley reacted angrily this evening after he was targeted by a Twitter troll who claimed the teenager had let his late father down by missing out on a medal.
Daley and his partner Pete Waterfield finished agonisingly outside the medals in fourth place in the Olympic 10m synchronised platform event.
Afterwards, Daley apologised on Twitter and said 'we tried out best'. But he was soon abused by a troll who told him: 'You let your dad down i hope you know that.'
Daley (nearside) and Waterfield stretch out on one of their early dives
Daley takes an anxious look up at the leaderboard after his first dive in the 10m Platform
Inspiration: Daley's father Rob, left, died in May last year following a long battle with cancer and was a major driving force behind the teenager's success
Daley's father Rob died in May last year following a long battle with cancer and was a major driving force behind the teenager's success.
Daley immediately re-tweeted the abuse saying: 'After giving it my all...you get idiot's sending me this' prompting a host of complaints from his fans.
During the event, the pair's total of 454.65 was quite a way below the mark needed for a bronze medal and a considerable distance behind the outstanding Chinese gold medallists Yuan Cao and Yanquan Zhang, who scored 486.78.
The Brits led after three dives - the mid-way point - but couldn't keep it going in the tougher, more technical dives.
They dropped from first to fourth after their fourth dive and couldn't retain the lost ground as the consistent Chinese pair, who took on lower difficulty tariffs, were inch perfect.
Afterwards, Daley was under no illusions that the fourth dive was the turning point. He said: 'It was just that fourth one, the three-and-a-half reverse dive and when you feel like that after it's difficult to get back.
'It is the way sport goes. It's annoying but what can you do?'
He later added on Twitter: 'Gutted. So sorry everyone but we tried our best and you can't afford to miss a dive at this standard...bring on individual.'
Tom Daley (near side) and Pete Waterfield are one of Britain's brightest hopes for a gold medal
Tom Daley (near side) and Pete Waterfield are one of Britain's brightest hopes for a gold medal
Both Daley and Waterfield will have another chance to win a medal in the 10m individual platform event
Gutted: Following the event, Tom Daley tweeted to express his disappointment
Gutted: Following the event, Tom Daley tweeted to express his disappointment
Speaking after the event, Waterfield added: 'On the fourth dive, I was a bit high and you cannot makes mistakes in this kind of competition.'
The Mexican duo of Ivan Garcia Navarro and German Sanchez took silver with a total of 468.90 and the Americans David Boudia and Nicholas McCrory won bronze with 463.47.
'Today is the day' said Daley earlier as he tries to continue Britain's Olympic medal success.
The 18-year-old, from Plymouth, has thanked supporters 'no matter what the outcome' in a tweet which also read: 'After the toughest year of my life, today is the day!'
Daley and Waterfield step out the pool after their first dive
An underwater shot of Pete Waterfield (foreground) and Tom Daley after a dive
British diver Tom Daley (left), pictured during the Olympic opening ceremony, thanked fans before the final
Spectator Danny Osborne, 24, said he knew both Daley and Waterfield and thought they would be finding their position hard.
He said: 'Fourth's the hardest place to come mentally. They came so close but didn't get to stand on the podium, so that's really tough to deal with.
'It's a real shame they didn't medal, because they did so well. The standard was just really high.
'I used to dive myself and the Mexicans did some dives that I've never seen before. It was a surprise to see them in the top three.'
Hannah Wintle, 11, said: 'They must feel like they've let us down, but they really haven't let us down.
'There's a lot of pressure on them to get a medal but they tried their best.'
There was a quietly proud mood in Tom Daley's home city of Plymouth as hundreds of people came out in support of the teenage diver.
A huge screen suspended over the plaza in the Devon city centre has drawn reasonable crowds since the Games' opening ceremony on Friday.
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