Olympic torch bearers bring Ormskirk and Burscough to a standstill

Jun 7 2012 by Tom Duffy, Ormskirk Advertiser

Olympic torch bearers bring Ormskirk and Burscough to a standstill

AROUND 18,000 people lined the streets of Ormskirk to greet the Olympic Torch.

Schoolchildren, shopowners and pensioners were among the thousands cheering the torchbearers.

Beginning in Ormskirk shortly after 9am on Friday, the torch was carried down Burscough Road into the town centre.

Charity fundraiser Bernie Buxton, who helped set up the Liverpool Taxi Drivers Children in Care Outing Fund, received the adulation of the crowd as he ran through the streets.

Delighted to have taken part in the historic event, the 67-year-old, from Stockbridge Village, said: “It was fantastic, it’s a day I will treasure for the rest of my life.

“My friends and family were all there and the turnout was fantastic. I’ve never seen anything like it in my life – it felt like lifting the European Cup.”

Bunting fluttered under the cloudy skies and schoolchildren waved Union Jacks as Ormskirk revelled in Olympic fever in front of the international TV cameras.

Father-of-two Shane Rimmer watched the torch on Burscough Street with his wife, Sarah, and children four-year-old Alexia and eight-month-old Aiden.