Queen's baton relay in South West tour in Cornwall

The Queen's Baton Relay has started in Cornwall ahead of the 2022 Commonwealth Games.

The event involves the baton travelling around England for 29 days, before arriving at the opening ceremony in Birmingham on 28 July.

First batonbearer Oli Turrell received the baton from Denise Lewis, president of Team England at the Eden Project.

During the day it toured the Eden Project and was met by a flotilla of vessels in Plymouth, Devon.

The baton, which is made of copper, aluminium and brass, was later taken on a paddleboard in Exeter.

At the Eden Project, 200 local year six school children were invited to welcome the baton, which was taken around the Eden Project via some of its iconic locations, including its zip line and Rainforest Biome.

In Plymouth it crossed the National Marine Park and arrived at the Barbican Landing Stage where it was met by the city leaders at the Mayflower Steps for a civic welcome.

After this it was taken on a tour of the city by batonbearers who the council said had been chosen because of the positive impact they had made to their local communities.

The baton then headed to Exeter where it was taken on a paddleboard along the Exeter Canal Basin, before travelling on land around the quayside and returning across the river via the Butts Ferry floating bridge.

It also went to the new leisure centre, St Sidwell's Point.

Thousands of people will carry the baton on its journey. One of those taking part in Exeter is foodbank manager Mark Richardson, who has been praised for his work during the pandemic and for transforming the foodbank's offering.

Follow BBC News South West on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected].