A group of Elm Park cadets rubbed shoulders with some famous Olympians recently.

The Hornchurch and Upminster Sea Cadets, based at Wood Lane, provided a guard and escort for the Worshipful Company of Coachmakers at their Guildhall gala banquet in the City of London – and met some of their famous guests.

Olympic swimmer Duncan Goodhew brought the torch he’d carried on the first day of the relay in Cornwall along with his gold medal from the 1980 Moscow Games. The cadets presented the items to the 200 guests at the reception – and even managed to get their photo taken with a group of Olympians including sprinter Linford Christie and rower Sir Steve Redgrave.