Paralympic Games: Ex-boxer Michael Watson to carry torch

Former boxer Michael Watson will be a torchbearer in the Paralympic relay.

Watson, along with Dame Tanni Grey Thompson, will take the flame next Wednesday in Trafalgar Square in the 24-hour relay from Stoke Mandeville.

The flame, which sets off on Tuesday evening from the spiritual home of the Paralympic Games, will be made up of four flames from around the UK.

These were lit on Wednesday and will be at Flame Festivals in London, Belfast, Edinburgh and Cardiff over the weekend.

The cauldron in London on Friday will be lit on the steps outside the National Gallery on the north terrace of Trafalgar Square by Paralympic former event rider Claire Lomas, who completed this year's London Marathon in 16 days.

The flame will be taken to a number of places in the city on Friday including the Houses of Parliament, the Royal Opera House and on the Docklands Light Railway while it will also be met by performers from this weekend's Notting Hill Carnival.