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Queen's Baton Relay travels through Staffordshire and Shropshire

The Queen's Baton Relay reaches Staffordshire in the final run up to Birmingham 2022

The Queen's Baton has passed through Staffordshire and Shropshire on the latest leg of an international relay ahead of the Birmingham Commonwealth Games.

The baton was carried by members of the public earlier through Newcastle-under-Lyme and Stoke-on-Trent before crossing into Shropshire.

The symbolic relay has already toured Commonwealth nations.

It has since crossed the region and is headed towards the Games' host city.

In Birmingham, at the opening ceremony on 28 July, the baton will have completed a journey that began at Buckingham Palace last year when the Queen sent it on its way.

Safety precautions were put in place for the relay as the UK braced for potentially its hottest day on record.

A celebration event due to be held in Hanley Park was called off due to the heatwave.

Huw Evans picture agency Rukia Bi takes part in The Queen's Baton RelayHuw Evans picture agency
Rukia Bi was another of Keele's baton-bearers

The Staffordshire leg began at Keele University in the borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme then headed to Kidsgrove.

Baton-bearers in Keele included autism campaigner Kevin Healey and Rukia Bi, a chaplain at the university.

Ms Bi said she was "completely taken aback" to have been chosen to carry the baton.

She said that when she took part, she tried to "take in the experience" despite "so much going through your head", including "feeling privileged" for "the fact that I have got this opportunity".

Baton in Kidsgrove
The baton also visited Kidsgrove Pump Track where Olympian Kyle Evans played his part

In Kidsgrove, Olympian BMX rider Kyle Evans extended the baton's journey at a local track.

Elsewhere in the town, Trudi Beswick used a narrowboat to carry the baton.

Getty Images Batonbearer Trudi Beswick holds the Queen's Baton as it visits The Harecastle Tunnel as part of the Birmingham 2022 Queen's Baton Relay on July 18, 2022 in KidsgroveGetty Images
Baton-bearer Trudi Beswick used a narrowboat for her stretch of the relay

In Stoke-on-Trent, the baton visited the World of Wedgwood and The Potteries Museum and Art Gallery.

It then headed across county borders to Shrewsbury, where a free event was planned in the Quarry park.

Getty Images Jo Yendole takes part in The Queen's Baton Relay as it visits The World of WedgwoodGetty Images
Jo Yendole took the baton as it visited the World of Wedgwood in Stoke-on-Trent

Councils in Stoke-on-Trent and Shropshire urged caution in the sun among those who gathered to watch the relay.

Getty Images Batonbearer Matt Lingham holds the Queen's Baton prior to it's flight from Stoke-on-Trent to ShrewsburyGetty Images
The baton was taken via helicopter from Stoke-on-Trent to Shrewsbury

As for baton-bearers themselves, head of the Queen's Baton Relay, Lisa Hampton, said they would be taken care of in the hot weather, explaining: "It is about making sure that everyone just takes everything at their own pace.

"We will never ask anyone to run, we will never ask anyone to hurry, so we are just really excited to celebrate our baton bearers."

Shropshire baton bearers
After leaving Stoke-on-Trent, the baton headed to Shrewsbury

On Tuesday, the baton will visit Telford in Shropshire, before heading back over the border to Rudyard Lake and Leek town centre in the Staffordshire Moorlands.

Baton in Shrewsbury
Crowds turned out to watch as the baton was carried past The Square in Shrewsbury
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