THE Olympic torch has now passed through the three west Suffolk towns it was due to visit yesterday.

Day 50 of the torch relay started in Chelmsford early and it passed through Harlow, Waltham Abbey and Bishop’s Stortford before arriving in Haverhill at about 3pm.

The torch arrived in Bury St Edmunds an hour later and moved on to Newmarket.

Alysia McIntyre, 21, from just outside Stowmarket, carried the torch for its final leg in Bury to the West Suffolk Athletics Track at the Bury St Edmunds Leisure Centre where the Suffolk Youth Games took place yesterday.

She described the experience as “amazing” and “surreal”.

“This is something I will remember for the rest of my life which is expected,” she said.

She said she only found out yesterday afternoon she would be doing the final leg.

She was nominated to be an Olympic torchbearer because of the work she has done training and coaching a group of girls from a school in Kenya to play netball, giving them continuing support.

Thousands of people lined the streets to glimpse the torch as it went by.

Chrissy Trendall, 61, of Newmarket Road, Bury, saw the Olympic torch from Angel Hill, Bury.

She said: “There was a huge build-up to it and it was absolutely amazing. It’s part of history and to just see it really and to see so many people out and about and enjoying it and different people you know - it was amazing.”

She added: “It was worth every minute of it.”

For details of the routes visit the Olympic torch section of the East Anglian Daily Times website.