Thousands of fans gathered in London on Thursday to greet Britain's Olympians and Paralympians for a parade to celebrate their Beijing success.

Starting at Mansion House, cycling gold medallist Chris Hoy and swimming stars Rebecca Adlington and Eleanor Simmonds were part of the 12-float procession.

After heading past St Paul's Cathedral and up the the Strand, the athletes finished in a packed Trafalgar Square.

The Olympians will head to Buckingham Palace for a reception with the Queen.

Hoy, Victoria Pendleton, Rebecca Romero and Paralympic champions Sarah and Barney Storey, Rachel Morris and Simon Richardson were the first to arrive by Nelson's Column and were welcomed by thousands of cheering fans.

Hoy told BBC News 24: "It's just unbelievable. Everybody's so happy and it's great to see so much positivity. It's a nice feeling. It's the stuff of dreams."

Simon Clegg, Team GB's chef de mission, said "To have this reception is fantastic. We have recognised that bringing all the athletes together has been very challenging."

The second float, which carried 22 of the 24 rowers who won medals in China, included Mark Hunter - gold medallist with Zac Purchase in the lightweight double sculls, as well as 400m Olympic champion Christine Ohuruogu.

Hunter said: "I wouldn't miss this for the world. Our success is everybody's success."

Lee Pearson, Paralympic dressage gold medallist, was on float six with the rest of the equestrian teams, along with Sarah Stevenson, who won Britain's first taekwondo medal, and modern pentathlon silver medallist Heather Fell. \

The successful sailing teams, including three-time Olympic winner Ben Ainslie, were on float seven, while boxing champion James DeGale was in the following float.

The ninth float held two of the Paralympic gold-medal winning boccia team, with Tim Brabants celebrating his canoeing gold and bronze on float 10.

Next up was Dave Roberts, who won four Paralympic swimming gold medals, to