RUNNING mums accompanied the Dorchester Area Schools Partnership’s Olympic torch on its final voyage between schools in the area.

The replica torch has been going around 20 schools in and around Dorchester since October and was returned to the school where it all started, St Mary’s First School in Charminster.

The torch was handed over by Cerne Abbas First School, who had parents Alice Moore and London Marathon entrant Andrea Watson run the eight miles between the schools with the torch.

As they arrived they were accompanied by a fire engine from Maiden Newton and children from Cerne Abbas.

Cerne Abbas headteacher Helen Williams said: “It was lovely.

“The trickiest thing was timing it all right because we are about eight miles away from Charminster and the two mums had to run the whole eight miles and arrived just in front of the fire engine.”

Mrs Williams said she wanted to give a special thank you for the retained fire crew from Maiden Newton, who stayed behind at St Mary’s to give the children a chance to check out the fire engine and look at their equipment.

She also praised Mrs Moore and Mrs Watson for braving the cold on their run.

Mrs Williams said: “They did ever so well because the temperature was minus six on the journey to Charminster.”

With the torch having now completed its journey round the Dorchester area, St Mary’s will now hand it on to East Dorset.

Philippa Jenkins, a teaching assistant at St Mary’s Charmin-ster, said the torch relay had got the children inspired about the Olympics.

She said: “They have all got quite excited and they were asking when the real torch was coming.”