Golden girl given hero's welcome

The 27-year-old was Britain's only medallist at the Vancouver Games, where she became the first British individual gold medalist at a Winter Olympics for 30 years with victory in the women's skeleton event.

Williams arrived at Hayesfield School, where she was a pupil, before an open-top bus tour around Bath.

She said: "You think one day you will bring a gold back but I didn't think I would go to my first Olympics and get gold but I have trained hard and know I did everything in my preparation to get the medal."

Pupils cheered as she attended school assembly and told them: "You have to make sacrifices if you want to go and get your dream and realise you can't do everything people expect you to do as a young person."