A huge street party welcomed the arrival of the Queen's Jubilee Baton to the region.

Crowds lined the streets of Middlesbrough on Saturday to watch the baton - which carries a special message from the Queen to be read out at the opening of the Commonwealth Games - make its way into the town, carried by local heroes.

The baton relay will visit 500 towns during its 5,000-mile, 50-day tour of the UK, finally arriving in Manchester for the Games on July 25.

It arrived in York on Friday and made its way to Middlesbrough via Malton, Scarborough, Whitby, Saltburn and Redcar.

On Saturday, teenage brother and sister John and Laura Baines, from Ormesby, Middlesbrough, were picked to run with the baton through the town centre, before it was passed to Radio Cleveland presenter Bob Fischer, who carried it triumphantly to a specially set-up stage on The Boulevard.

He said: "I didn't know what to expect but I ended up running through the streets of Middlesbrough with a full police escort and two Commonwealth runners beside me. It was a fantastic feeling.

"There was quite a crowd there and people were cheering. I think it was the first and last time I'll ever feel like an athlete!". Mum Christine Baines, 43, said she felt immense pride as she watched John, 16, and Laura, 15, pupils at Nunthorpe School, run with the baton. "It felt like such an honour for them to have been chosen.

"The only disappointment was that it was supposed to be shown on a big screen to the crowds at The Boulevard but there was a technical hitch and that didn't happen."

Once the baton was safely on stage, the celebrations got underway, with special effects and music and dance from local performers.

Today, the baton had an early start, leaving Captain Cook's birthplace in Stewart Park, Middlesbrough, just after 7am.

It then travelled through Seaton Carew, Hartlepool, Easington and Sunderland, before arriving in Washington last night.

Tomorrow the relay will continue through Northumberland, arriving in Berwick-upon-Tweed tonight.

The next day takes in Morpeth and Newcastle, and, on Wednesday (July 10), the baton will arrive in Darlington, visiting Consett, Lanchester, Durham, Croxdale and Bishop Auckland, on the way. It leaves the region on Thursday, journeying through Morton-on-Swale, Ainderby Steeple, Northallerton and Thirsk, before arriving in Leeds.