Crowds that flocked to see the Queen's jubilee visit to the North-East are expected to turn out again in support of the baton relay in her honour.

The world's longest relay will travel throughout the region on its way to the opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Games, in Manchester, on July 25.

The historic journey, which is covering 5,000 miles in 50 days, is expected to attract attention from Royal fans across the region.

It will visit Darlington, York, Harrogate, Durham, Newcastle and Middlesbrough, among other places.

On the jubilee tour of the region in May, thousands of people turned up to catch a glimpse of the Queen as she met well-wishers and North-East dignitaries.

In Darlington, more than 10,000 people packed the Market Square to see the Queen, drawing one of the largest crowds on her national tour.

The baton will arrive in the region at York on Friday, at 6.40pm.

It will then travel through a host of towns and cities before leaving the last leg of its journey at Thirsk, North Yorkshire on July 11, when it will travel on to Leeds.

The baton carries a special message from the Queen which she placed inside it when she launched the relay from Buckingham Palace on March 11 with the help of sports names Sir Roger Bannister, Bobby Charlton, George Best and Sebastian Coe.

A handful of North-East local heroes have been picked to carry the baton through their home towns.

Director of the relay, Di Henry, said: "The relay is the spirit of the Commonwealth Games and the country's opportunity to say thank you to the heroes of the communities - those people who have been selected to carry the baton in recognition of the extraordinary things they have achieved for themselves or for others.

"It is great for people across the UK to play a part in this extraordinary event and to show support and appreciation for those who are lucky enough to carry the baton, whether that person is your next-door neighbour, the athlete you most admire, or one of the young sports people who may become our sporting heroes of tomorrow."

During the relay, the baton will have visited 24 countries on five continents and travelled 60,000 miles before reaching Manchester.

For the locations and times the baton will be in the North, log on to www.commonwealthgames.com