Swimming sensation Ellie Simmonds cheered by crowds

Crowds chanted her name and waved flags as the Paralympic double gold medallist took an open-top bus ride through the town and the wider Walsall borough.

Excited fans braved the wet weather to catch a glimpse of the sports star, who thanked the home supporters for helping to spur her on to glory.

The celebrations started when hundreds gathered near her golden post box in Aldridge, well in advance of Ellie's arrival.

There was was a huge cheer as the 17-year-old swimmer, who scooped two gold medals, a silver and a bronze at the London Games, pulled up in a car accompanied by Mayor of Walsall Dennis Anson. The They included Cara Gibbard, a 68-year-old grandmother-of-four, who said: "We are proud of Ellie, it is a great achievement what she has done."

The athlete then travelled to her old Cooper & Jordan School where the swimming pool has been named in her honour. There were chants of 'Ellie, Ellie, Ellie' as excited pupils got the chance to see the golden girl. The outside of the school was decorated in a sea of Union flags and any decorations covered in red, white and blue.

She shook hands with the youngsters and some even got the chance to touch the gold medals she brought with her.

Ellie cut the ribbon to officially launch the re-named swimming pool. She was presented with a badge from the school and a miniature golden post box made by Walsall Leather Museum. Navraj Purewal, aged 11, said: "It was really good, she is a great inspiration to all of us and a great role model. More people can be inspired."

Sophie Smith, 10, said: "It was really special being able to touch the medals and they were quite heavy. It was a really special moment we are all proud of her here.

"I have learned from her don't give up, try your hardest, and you will get where you want to be."

Headteacher Robert Trawford said: "It was fantastic. The young lady that you saw, bubbly and friendly and smiling all the time is exactly what she was like when she was here with us.

"As long as that pool is there it will bear that name and will be a testament to her.

"It is one of the most special days for the school, she is a real hero of ours. To have one of your ex-pupils do something on the world stage like that is fantastic."

Claire Satchwell, from Shelfield, has two children, Jessica, aged seven, and four year-old Lewis, who attend the school. The 34-year-old said: "It has been great and is well worth celebrating. She has really achieved something."

The open-top bus set off from the school and travelled along Walsall Road and on to Aldridge Road. It arrived in Walsall through Lichfield Street at the Arboretum.

Cheers went up in the crowds as the bus carrying Ellie made its way through the town centre.

Melanie Osborne, from Aldridge, was among the crowds with her three-year-old daughter Amelia who got to touch the medals. Her other daughter, Lydia, five, was also in the group of schoolchildren welcoming her to Walsall Town Hall.

Retired builder Mick Webster, 67, of Holtshill Lane, Chuckery, said: "I wouldn't have missed it for the world. She is a credit to everyone and an icon, what better role model could you want? She is just a wonderful girl, it has been great to see her.

"She is a Walsall girl, she is a British athlete but she belongs to us."

Father-of-two Paul Price, 42, of Lichfield Road, added: "We are all just so proud of Ellie. She has never forgotten her roots and always seems to be smiling."

Tracy Pattrick, aged 48, said: "Ellie is an amazing youngster who has persevered despite all the odds. She deserves this and has done us proud as a community."

Fiona Barrett, aged nine, from the St Mary of the Angels school in Aldridge, had written to Ellie and was excited to be seeing her after receiving an invite to the town hall.

She said: "I had posted the letter in her gold post box and it was amazing that she asked us here."

Friends Phoebe Mulligan and Elanor Miles, both nine, came along too.

Phoebe said: "I got to touch the medals and ask her a question. She is amazing and we are so lucky to be here today."

Also in the crowds were Walsall College students, including public services students who were recruited to steward the reception.

Helen Brooks, curriculum manager for public services at Walsall College, said: "The students are delighted to have had the chance to gain experience at a high-profile event and apply the skills they are currently learning on their course. They showed great professionalism in ensuring spectator safety during the procession and were excellent ambassadors for the college."

Student Amelia Grigg, aged 19, from Walsall, who is studying performing arts, said she knew Ellie when they both went to a weekend theatre school in Streetly.

"She actually quit doing the acting to do her swimming so she obviously made the right choice. It's lovely to be here today to see her as such a success," she said.

Emmaleigh Ough, 17, from Cannock, added: "We watched her get the gold medals and we were so proud of her. We wanted to come along today and are so happy we got the chance to cheer along."

Mayor Dennis Anson welcomed Ellie to the podium outside the town hall in front of the crowds and congratulated her on her medal success.

He said: "We are proud of our Ellie and I know all of you are proud of her too. We are proud of her in Aldridge, Walsall in fact the West Midlands and the whole of Great Britain. Well done Ellie."

He said Ellie had wanted to speak to the young children from Walsall and was excited to be taking part in the question-and-answer session, which she had planned.

Ellie said: "I would like to say a big thank you to all of you for turning up and supporting me.

"The home crowd has been such a big advantage and the support I have had during the games definitely gave me a big home advantage. Thank you for turning up and I hope you have all had a good day."

The crowd then gave her three cheers before she went into the town hall for the question-and-answer session.

Welcoming her with more cheers inside the building, Ellie entered waving flags for the last leg of the tour.

Zakia Begum, aged 21, asked her what motivated her to swim.

Ellie said: "The feeling of getting medals motivates me. I really enjoy swimming and also I get to travel the world."

Daisy Griffiths, aged 15, from the Shelfield Academy, asked Ellie how she juggled her swimming life with her school life.

Ellie said she trained early in the morning, before going straight to school, then before she went home, and had to stick to a tight schedule.

Harriet Mills, from Cooper Jordan School, asked if she was proud a swimming pool she swam in as a child had been named after her.

Ellie said: "It's great that they chose to name the pool after me."

And Ethan Allen asked if there had been a lot of pressure to perform on the day from the high expectation of the fans.

Ellie said: "I did have quite a lot of pressure from people coming from the success I had in Bejing and people thinking that I was just going to get gold medals.

"But I had a lot of support leading up to it from the sport psychologist leading up to it and having good family and friends around me."