Olympic hopeful leads ‘relay of prayer’ in Rochdale

Tom Lancashire with Faye Stafford and Luke Stott in the passing over of the Olympic Torch Relay of Prayer

Olympic hopeful Tom Lancashire has led a convoy of MINIs, carrying the Olympic Torch Relay of Prayer from Our Lady’s and St Anselm’s RC Primary School in Whitworth to St Vincent’s RC Primary School in Norden.

Bolton born Tom, who represented Great Britain in the 2008 Olympics in his field of 1500m, handed over the torch from Our Lady’s to St Vincent’s, before saying a few words to the assembly.

Tom said: “I’m delighted to be able to support schools in my local area, the Olympics are creating lots of great links in the community with activity such as this and it is great to see.”

The aim of the relay is to mark the significance of the Olympic Games by looking at the links between religion and sport as well as celebrating their common ability to bring people together. 208 schools across the region are taking part in the relay of prayer and the torch, which will have travelled over 300 miles, finishes at a special service in Salford Cathedral on July 6 2012.

Williams MINI in Rochdale provided a red, blue and white MINI branded with the showcasing the Great Britain colours for the occasion.

Paul DiClemente from Williams MINI said: “We are always looking at ways to support the local community and the Relay of Prayer is an important activity across the region that we are delighted to be involved with.”