A FORMER Wolverley CE Secondary School pupil is guarding the Queen’s Baton on its relay around Scotland as part of this year’s Commonwealth Games.

Peter Jarvis, 34, originally from Kidderminster, now lives in Dumbarton, Scotland, and is a member of a team of police officers selected to guard the baton on its 40-day relay around the country.

The baton relay started its journey in London on October 9, 2013 and during 288 days will have passed through 70 Commonwealth nations and a distance of more than 114,000 miles.

It arrived in Scotland on June 14 and since then Mr Jarvis has been running alongside the baton to ensure the safety of the 400 runners who will carry it, as well as the safety of the baton itself.

The baton will eventually arrive in Glasgow today, in time for the opening of the Games.

The relay is just one of the traditions of the Commonwealth games, first having been introduced at what was the British Empire and Commonwealth Games in Cardiff in 1958.

Mr Jarvis’ family have previous sporting relay experiences. His father, Robin, was a torch bearer as part of the Olympic Games in 2012, and carried the Olympic torch in Callow Hill on May 24, 2012, when it passed through Worcestershire.

A typical day will see more than 100 baton bearers each carry the baton around 200 metres, meaning the police officers guarding it will run in excess of a half -marathon each day.

That should not pose much of a problem to Mr Jarvis as, since 2003, he and his father have run many races together, including the New York City Marathon, raising money for various charities.

Their latest run was the BUPA Great Edinburgh Run on April 27, where they raised funds for Birmingham Children’s Hospital.

After the Queen’s Baton Relay Mr Jarvis is running the Amsterdam, Marathon on October 19.