The district’s Olympic and Paralympic athletes were given a hero’s welcome in Marlow yesterday afternoon.

Hundreds of people descended on Higginson Park on Sunday to meet a host of sports stars from the district, including talented teenage shooter Amber Hill, double Olympic gold medallist Helen Glover and London 2012 Paralympic champion Naomi Riches.

They were joined by Marlow Rowing Club member and Britain's most decorated female Olympian, Katherine Grainger, and Paralympic champions Jeanette Chippington, Clare Griffiths and Katie-George Dunlevy.

The sun shone as the athletes spent more than an hour in the park meeting their fans, signing autographs and having their pictures taken.

Former Young Sports Personality of the Year, Amber Hill, 19, who has recently returned from Rio 2016, said the support from the crowds was “amazing.”

She said: “I can’t believe how many people have turned out to welcome us back and celebrate our achievements, it is just incredible and really does show the support we get.

“It’s such a nice feeling to see so many young people wanting to meet us, I'm only young myself but to know that I am hopefully inspiring the next generation really does mean a lot to me.

“I was only ten when I started and seeing some of that age group here now and to hopefully inspire them, is something that could change their lives and to be a part of that means a lot.”

The skeet shooter perfected her talents at E.J.Churchill Shooting Ground in Lane End.

She added: “They have been fantastic, I train there three days a week now and they are so supportive with everything I do and it’s in such a handy location that I only have to drive about half an hour to get to it so I'm very fortunate to have that.”

Marlow’s gold medal winning hockey star, Alex Danson could not make the homecoming celebrations, but sent a message saying she “loves” living in the town.

She said: “I would just like to thank everyone here today for all the local support you have given me. I would like to say a special thank you to everyone in the town who has made me so welcome, in particular Marlow Hockey Club.”

The hockey club, along with Marlow Rowing Club, held a guard of honour for all the Olympians and Paralympians present yesterday.

Newly-married Cookham resident Helen Glover, who was joined at the celebrations by her husband, TV’s Steve Backshall, was quick to defend him when talk turned to the Deadly 60 presenter dropping her Rio gold medal.

Bourne End Jewellers was tasked with repairing the damage to the rower’s medal last month after Steve dropped it.

She said: “It gets dropped all the time, I take it schools and to sports clubs – it does get dropped. It got dropped by Steve and it’s obviously a bigger headline than it getting dropped in a school.”

Marlow mayor Bob Johnson said the town was “proud and pleased” to have been chosen by the district council to host the Olympic and Paralympic stars.

He said: “The amount of time, effort and commitment that these guys give to their profession but also the residents, is fantastic. They have interacted and given their time to members of the public. The whole thing has been brilliant.”

Wycombe District Council chairman, cllr Mahboob Hussain, praised the athletes for putting the district on the “world map.”

He said: “I feel very proud that so many sportsmen and women were selected from the Wycombe district to represent our country. You truly inspire us all, not just in the Wycombe district, but the whole country. Hopefully some of our children and young residents will follow in your footsteps and become sporting champions in the future too.”