Warrington archer John Stubbs flies the flag for ParalympicsGB as games finally get underway

364 days later than planned, the 2020 Paralympic Games are officially underway.

The opening ceremony took place in Tokyo earlier this afternoon. And what a moment for Warrington's John Stubbs, who joined swimmer Ellie Simmonds as a flag bearer for the British team.

John will look to add to his medal collection in Archery, having won gold in Beijing in 2008 and a silver in Rio five years ago.

As with the Olympics, the ceremony took place in an almost-empty stadium due to Covid restrictions.

One of the first events to get underway in the early hours of tomorrow morning will be the swimming. It turned out to be one of the big success stories for Great Britain at the Olympics with eight medals won in the pool. So can our Paralympic swimmers emulate that success?

Many of the GB squad are based in Manchester, including Rossendale's Tom Hamer.

Tom Hamer told ITV News: "It's everyone's dream to get a gold medal. Especially at the Paralympics. It's been my goal for so many years now. And I was so close in 2016. Just talking about it irritates me! But I'm just going to go there. It's unfortunate my family can't be out there to support. I'm a bit gutted about that. But we've just moved house and I know my parents will put a big projector on and have people round to support me. So I know they're there with me in spirit."