A 550-mile torch relay will visit 250 towns and villages in Suffolk as part of a major event celebrating the Queen's platinum jubilee.
The Festival of Suffolk Torch Relay will form a key part of the celebrations which are set to become the county's biggest ever community event.
The torch will start its journey in Brandon on Friday May 13, before making its way through 250 towns and villages, reaching its conclusion at the Suffolk Show at Trinity Park, on Wednesday June 1.
Selected community heroes will be accompanying the torch as it makes its way around the county, alongside the Bury St Edmunds Rickshaw team, with the rickshaws from Stowmarket and Framlingham joining along the route.
The rickshaw services are run as charities that offer free rides to those who are experiencing mobile or social isolation, allowing people to get outside and interact with people.
Volunteer organiser, Mark Brennan, said: “This is so exciting now that people are starting to hear about the festival.
“When I was asked to organise something to mark the Queen's Platinum Jubilee in Suffolk, I was asked to come up with something to engage as much of our communities as possible.
"My idea is a symbolic torch relay that will go to every town with a population over 500, and the villages in between. It’s a cross between the BBC Children in Need Rickshaw Challenge and the Olympic Torch Relay.”
Bury St Edmunds Rickshaw pilot, David Fisher, said: “Our rickshaws are accessible to everyone.
"In Bury we have four passenger rickshaws and a cargo one that’s been adapted for wheelchairs. I am looking forward to meeting people in the different towns and villages.”
Director of communications for the Festival of Suffolk, Tim Holder, said: “It’s a wonderful way to celebrate the Queen's Platinum Jubilee and the arrival of Festival of Suffolk, and will show how brilliant the county is as everyone comes together.
“We need nominations now for local heroes with stories to tell, who will ride in the rickshaw and carry the Torch. It’s a real grassroots start to the celebrations.”
The torch is currently being made in Suffolk, with the design a closely guarded secret, but the design "will have great symbolism for the county and the Queen."
Nominations for community heroes can be made on the Festival of Suffolk website or to local Parish Councils.
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