THE names of the 27 people chosen to carry the Olympic flame through West Somerset were revealed this week - and only five of them are from the district itself.

Some of the runners are from as far afield as France, Croydon and Cardiff.

Students and schoolchildren Josh Lee, Aimee Murrell, Cara Hawker, Connor Bazley and Tilly Adlington have all been confirmed as torchbearers on the West Somerset leg of the UK-wide Olympic torch relay on May 21.

But the absence of more locally-based bearers does not appear to be due to a lack of nominations or worthy recipients in West Somerset.

In fact, a number of residents who had applied to carry the iconic Olympic torch in front of family and friends have been allocated slots on routes elsewhere in the South West.

A spokesman for London 2012 admitted the allocation of torchbearer places had been a "logistical nightmare" with representatives from the games' sponsors and committee members jostling for places alongside local nominees.

He said that where people had not been given places to run in their home areas, London 2012 had tried to ensure their slots were within an hour of where they lived.

"Obviously, we had a huge number of nominations from all around the country, which were whittled down by regional panels who then had to try and drop people into the relevant areas," the spokesman said.

West Somerset Community College student David Middleton, from Washford, has been picked to carry the torch in Knowle near Braunton in North Devon, while a Frenchman and a pensioner from Mark will carry the torch through David's home village.

And instead of carrying out his Olympic duty in either West Somerset or Taunton Deane, 85-year-old Wiveliscombe pensioner Tony Hill will travel to Barnstaple.

However, he is hoping it will very much be a case of second time lucky after he was previously picked to carry the Olympic torch when London last hosted the games in 1948 but was forced to pull out of the role due to appendicitis.

The torch is due to travel through West Somerset on Monday May 21 on its way to the Olympic stadium.

Games organisers confirmed last year that the torch would travel through Lynmouth, Lynton, Porlock, Dunster, Minehead, Carhampton, Washford and Williton en route from Cornwall to London via an 8,000-mile route around the UK.

In the schedule released this week, the torch is due to arrive at Lynton's Station Hill at 3pm then Lynmouth at 3.14pm.

From there, it is set to reach the A39 at Porlock at 3.44pm before going down Porlock Hill and along the High Street to the Bossington turnoff.

Porlock resident Tilly Adlington, 13, will join runners from Taunton and North Curry for that part of the journey.

The torch will then be taken "in convoy" to Minehead, where another bearer will take up the flame from Woodside Close at 4.03pm.

It will go through The Parks, Park Street, Friday Street, Townsend Road, Alcombe Road and Bircham Road, and bearers include Minehead youngsters Aimee Murrell and Connor Bazley, both 13, Cara Hawker, 12, and community college student Josh Lee, 17.

Other bearers are from Chard, Cardiff, Croydon and Honiton.

The torch will then arrive at Dunster Steep at 4.38pm before bearers from Burnham-on-Sea carry it to Dunster Castle, and it is scheduled to reach Carhampton's village boundary at 5.10pm to be taken along the A39 to the B3191 junction by a Frenchman and a Bridgwater resident.

It then goes to Washford, arriving at its boundary at 5.20pm and being carried along Station Road to Langtry Country House.

The last leg of the West Somerset route will see the torch travel to Williton, arriving in Priest Street on the A39 at 5.31pm and being taken up Tower Hill to the Sampford Brett junction on the A358.

It will then be carried by runners from Frome and Taunton to Silk Mills Road in Taunton, where it is due at 6.08pm.

Cllr Tim Taylor, leader of West Somerset Council, said he was sure West Somerset residents would turn out in force to watch the one-in-a-lifetime spectacle.

"The flame travels through some of the district's outstanding gems like the beautiful Exmoor village of Porlock, into the vibrant town of Minehead, through the medieval streets of Dunster and on to the traditional villages of Carhampton, Washford and Williton," he said.

"This is an exciting time for our communities and I am sure residents will line the streets to witness this fantastic spectacle and lend their support to the torchbearers."

Sebastian Coe, chairman of the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, said: "The flame symbolises the Olympic spirit and its journey around the UK will bring the excitement of the games to our streets.

"Now the people know the route the Olympic flame will be carried along and the torchbearers for their community, they can start planning how they might celebrate and make it West Somerset's moment to shine."

More details of the Olympic torch route and individual torchbearers are available on the website http://www.london2012">www.london2012. com.