Thousands turn out to see Olympic torch as it travels to Dundee

Scores of people have turned out to see the Olympic torch as it makes its way through Angus en route to Dundee.

The flame left Aberdeen early on Tuesday with more than 100 torchbearers carrying it on the133 mile journey to Dundee.

On the way the torch was passing through Stonehaven, Marykirk, Hillside, Montrose, Brechin, Forfar, Meigle, Coupar Angus, Woodside, Burrelton and Balbeggie, Scone, Perth, Abernethy, Newburgh, Cupar, Dairsie, Guardbridge and Leuchars.

It was expected to arrive in Dundee just after 6pm to a host of celebrations and entertainments at City Square and Baxter Park.

The public have been warned to avoid trying to attend both as traffic was expected to be heavy.

Around 30,000 people were expected to turn out for the event at Baxter Park with celebrations kicking off from 4pm.

Scots pop star Emeli Sande is due on stage at 6.13pm, with Lord Provost Bob Duncan speaking at 6.31pm.

At 6.50pm, following the arrival of the Olympic flame in the park, a cauldron will be lit. Events at the park will come to a close at around 7.15pm.

STV weatherman Sean Batty said the weather was expected to be good for spectators at the park.

He said: "The weather will be mainly cloudy and overcast and we could see light showery outbreaks later on but these will not be heavy. There’s not much wind about so it probably doesn’t feel quite as cold.

"The temperature will be something around 13-14C which is quite cold for this time of year. If the sun penetrates the cloud it could feel warmer."

On its journey to Dundee the Olympic torch was visiting Scone Palace and a statue of comic character Desperate Dan.

The first torchbearer on the fifth day of its tour of Scotland was Lindsay Rennie, 46, from Arbroath, who picked up the flame just after 7am. He has swum across the River Tay on three separate occasions to raise money for charity, raising more than £7,000.

At Scone Palace it was carried by 16-year-old Louise Fox, a swimmer from Dundee.

Later it was to be taken to the Desperate Dan statue in Dundee, which was put up in celebration of the famous character from The Dandy comic.

It will be carried by another swimmer, 16-year-old Mark Szaranek from Fife.

He was selected to represent Great Britain at the 2011 European Olympic Youth Games and hopes one day to represent Team GB at the Olympics.

On Wednesday the torch will start the day in St Andrews and is expected to visit the iconic Swilcan Bridge at the Old Course before heading along the West Sands beach and to the university.

The weather is expected to be sunny with a small risk of showers and temperatures of around 8-9C. As it heads to Edinburgh the temperature will get warmer and there could be light winds.

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