Athletes pass the baton

Athletes from across the South are making their final preparations ahead of the Paralympics.

After the four flames - which were lit across the United Kingdom - are joined at Stoke Mandeville, a 24 hour torch relay will carry the cauldron to the Olympic Stadium before tomorrow's opening ceremony. It will be carried 92 miles by 580 torchbearers, working in teams of five.

There'll be 4,280 athletes competing at the London 2012 Paralympic Games - the largest number ever to attend a Paralympic Games since the first official Games took place in Rome 1960.

It'll be broadcast to more countries than ever before, and each day a batch of about 10,000 tickets will be made available for those wishing to go to events.

For many, tonight's Flame lighting ceremony signifies the Paralympics coming home. The event was first started at Stoke Mandeville Hospital in Buckinghamshire, where neurologist Dr Ludwig Guttmann worked with injured serviceman after the second World War.

He revoluntionised treatment of spinal injuries and laid the foundations of the modern Paralympic Games. Rachel Hepworth has this report on the journey to the Paralympics.