Hundreds of people have welcomed the Paralympic torch through Harrow in the early hours of this morning, as the flame makes its way to the Olympic Stadium.

The torch was due to arrive in the borough in The Common, Stanmore, at around 3.30am but was running around two hours behind schedule as it arrived, carried by one of the teams of 580 torchbearers.

It made its way along Stanmore Broadway, Honeypot Lane and along Kingsbury Road, before arriving at the steps of the Shri Swaminarayan Mandir Temple in Brentfield Road, the UK’s first traditional Hindu temple, at approximately 8.30am.

Brent North MP Barry Gardiner then took part in a ceremony which involved pulling apart string made up of different threads and colours to allow the flame through.

The relay also took the torch to the Stanmore-based Aspire charity, which supports those with spinal cord injuries, and travelled through the site of the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital in Brockley Hill.

The 24-hour torch relay began, with the four flames of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland being united in a cauldron in the shadow of Stoke Mandeville Hospital, the spiritual home of the Paralympics.

It will continue through London, visiting landmarks such as Lord's Cricket Ground, the Abbey Road crossing made famous by the Beatles and London Zoo, before it arrives at the opening ceremony at 8.30pm, which will attended by the Queen.

The early-morning nature of the torch’s trip through Harrow was heavily criticised by disabled charities in the borough last month, with one saying organisers were just “paying token value” to the Paralympics.

But London 2012 chairman Lord Coe said: “We have created a unique identity for the Paralympic Torch Relay which will be a celebration of courage, determination, inspiration and equality that every Paralympian represents.”