World Cup fever again gripped the Midlands as the Webb Ellis Cup began its four month-long Sweet Chariot Tour of England today.

The tour, which will take in a staggering 290 events in just 86 days, was given a flying start, quite literally, by World Cup hero Mike Tindall who delivered the gold trophy in a Harrier jump jet.

The England and Bath centre was given the ride of his life in the jet by pilot Simon Jessett from RAF Wittering to RAF Cosford in Shropshire where it was handed to RFU president Robert Horner who then handed it on to Roy Taylor, president of North Midlands, who became the first of the RFU's 38 Constituent Bodies to host the trophy.

The trophy was then taken to a packed Telford Shopping Centre where around 1,000 shoppers and rugby fans queued to have their photograph taken with the Webb Ellis Cup.

Around 400 schoolchildren awaited the trophy at Oswestry RFC, who had the distinction of becoming the first club in the country to receive the trophy, and around 3,000 fans queued at Luctonians in rural Herefordshire where the trophy was delivered by an RAF helicopter piloted by Flt Lt Andy Stradling.

" It's a great honour for us to have the opportunity to look after the Webb Ellis Cup," he said. "Both Steve Doubleday, my co-pilot, and myself are rugby fans and we would have welcomed any chance to see the trophy. But to see it at such close quarters is a huge honour."

Dave Thomas, Luctonians' chairman, also enjoyed a busy evening for the Midlands One club.

" We are a club that is used to staging big events but to have the Webb Ellis Cup here is absolutely fantastic," said the former Leicester and Ebbw Vale hooker.

" Since England won the trophy we have had a huge increase in interest in rugby from youngsters of all backgrounds so we knew that there would be a big turn out when we were told that we would be getting the World Cup.

" But the numbers of people have been greater than we anticipated and it's a tribute to the organisation of the sub-committee we set up to run the event that we have coped so well."

At Telford young and old enjoyed the chance to see the World Cup trophy at close quarters, particularly Telford mother Alex Powell and her ten-week-old daughter Chloe.

" I wasn't a rugby fan until the World Cup but I watched the final when I was in the early stages of labour," Alex said.

" This event means a lot because the photographs we have had taken with the trophy will go in Chloe's album and it's something special to remember."

The Sweet Chariot Tour continues the North Midlands leg of its tour on Friday February 6 at Evesham HS (8-9.15am), Cockshutt Hill School in Birmingham from 11am to 2.30pm and at Bromsgrove RFC from 4pm.