A grandmother-of-six says she did not believe it at first when she was told she was going to be a Paralympic Torchbearer.

Joan Sheridan, 75, has already been a Redbridge Ambassador, an Olympic volunteer and performed with the Golden Years Dance Troupe at the Ilford stint of the Torch relay.

Now Mrs Sheridan, of Brunswick Gardens, Newbury Park, is getting ready to carry the Paralympic Torch on Wednesday.

“I didn’t believe it at first when it was mentioned by the Redbridge Ambassadors, and then I got the emails saying that I was chosen,” she said. “I’ve got something to look forward to.”

Speaking about the Olympics she said: “I just wanted to be so involved with it, the whole atmosphere was so great. It was getting more and more exciting as it was coming along.”

She will be taking up the Torch in Southwark but has not been told the full details of what she will be doing yet.