AN OLYMPIC torch signed by Lord Seb Coe has put smiles on schoolchildren's faces after a Chingford businessman bought it at auction.
Anthony Perrett, company director of The Car Buying Company in Station Road, Chingford, bought the torch as a present for his two-year-old son and wants as many other children as possible to enjoy the souvenir of the Games, which helped bring the Olympic flame all the way into Stratford's Olympic Park to launch the start of London 2012 back in July.
And he invited children from Normanhurst School in Station Road to come and hold the torch for themselves.
The 48-year-old will not reveal how much he paid for it, though the auction has seen other signed torches sell for between £2,000 and £3,000, while one signed by gold medal-winning cyclist Bradley Wiggins went for £13,000.
But he said: "The money's not important. It's a rare thing to hold an Olympic torch so it was fantastic to see the kids doing it. They had a fantastic time."
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