Paralympic flame arrives in London ahead of opening ceremony

Its arrival followed an overnight relay from Stoke Mandeville in Buckinghamshire - the spiritual home of the Paralympic Games. The flame reached the Shree Swaminarayan Hindu temple in Willesden, Brent, amid cheers and traditional prayers.

From there it set off on its journey through six host boroughs in the capital on its way to the Olympic Stadium.

Hundreds of people lined the streets and waved Union flags whhile drums played uplifting rhythms in the morning sunshine as Antony Eames, 32, from Wokingham, held out a torch on a red carpet at the top of the temple’s staircase.

Although the relay was about two hours behind schedule when the torch was lit from a miner’s lamp just before 8.30am, organisers said they hoped to claw back the delay.

The flame will make its way past London landmarks including the Abbey Road crossing made famous by the Beatles, Lord’s Cricket Ground and London Zoo.

Last night four individual flames representing the four home nations were carried into the stadium at Stoke Mandeville, and one combined torch was carried out, a beacon of the Paralympic spirit.

Despite much of the relay taking place under cover of darkness, thousands of people turned out on a clear and chilly night to watch its journey and cheer on the proud torchbearers.