Home towns welcome Olympic GB heroes' return

There will be an official victory parade to celebrate Team GB's success at the Olympics and Paralympics in London on 10 September, but in the meantime some of the Olympic medal winners have been greeted like heroes on their return to their home cities, towns and villages.

Here are some of the events that have taken place so far.

Belfast's Olympic bronze boxing medal-winners Paddy Barnes and Michael Conlan have been welcomed back to their home town with an open-top bus ride through the centre of the city.

The pair arrived back at Dublin airport on Monday with the rest of Team Ireland and were honoured at a reception at Titanic Belfast in the evening.

Olympic gold-medal-winning boxer Luke Campbell is also having a homecoming party thrown in his honour in Hull.

The event, at Hull City Hall on Tuesday from 18:00 BST, will also celebrate Hull Olympian Alex Smith, who reached the men's hammer final.

Mr Campbell, 24, who trains at the city's St Paul's Boxing Academy, said he could not wait to get back home and show off his medal, which "weighs a ton", but added he was nervous about facing the crowds.

As well as being honoured with a commemorative gold postbox, he has had a telephone kiosk painted gold, courtesy of KC, which runs the city's telephone network.

In Wales, the family of 19-year-old taekwondo Olympic gold-medal-winner Jade Jones is preparing to welcome her back home to Flint.

Meanwhile, people in Sheffield have been urged to help turn the city centre into a "sea of gold" for Jessica Ennis's homecoming celebration on Friday.

A public celebration of her victory will be held at Barker's Pool from 16:00 BST, before a private civic reception in the City Hall.

The Lord Mayor of Sheffield is encouraging people to bring or wear something gold to "welcome her home in style".

Given that if Yorkshire was a country it would be 12th in the medal-winners' table, it is hardly surprising it hosted some of the first homecoming celebrations.

About 5,000 people attended an event to mark the achievements of Leeds' Olympic athletes - including triathlon stars Alistair and Jonny Brownlee, silver-medal cyclist Lizzie Armitstead and Nicola Adams, who made history as the first ever Olympic women's boxing champion - at Millennium Square.

Gold-medallist Alistair Brownlee said seeing such a large crowd turn out in his home city was "absolutely amazing", and he felt like he is "on the crest of a wave and about to fall off it any day now".

Miss Adams, who was unable to attend, sent a recorded message to say she could not wait to show her gold medal to "everybody in Yorkshire".

Olympic cycling gold-medallist Dani King thanked the crowds for their support

Olympic cycling gold medallist Dani King was another of the athletes to receive a warm welcome in her home village of Hamble, near Southampton.

The 21-year-old, who won the team pursuit alongside Laura Trott and Joanna Rowsell, said the reception was "absolutely incredible".

Villagers also turned out for a special party to congratulate Olympic shooting gold-medallist Peter Wilson in his home village of Glanvilles Wootton, in Dorset.

Plans are also under way for "a huge welcome home party" in Plymouth to celebrate Tom Daley's bronze medal in the men's 10m individual platform diving and Plymouth-trained Lithuanian Ruta Meilutyte's gold in the women's 100m breaststroke.