OLYMPIC hero Steve Redgrave was handed the keys to his very own £52,000 Jaguar XJR by his wife Ann as he landed at Heathrow Airport on Tuesday morning.

OLYMPIC hero Steve Redgrave was handed the keys to his very own £52,000 Jaguar XJR by his wife Ann as he landed at Heathrow Airport on Tuesday morning.

Steve's wife bought the car as a surprise retirement gift for her five-times Olympic gold-winning husband.

Steve, 38, of Marlow Bottom, said: 'I was totally shocked and wasn't expecting it at all, I thought it had been hired to take us home. It wasn't until Ann told me when we were standing by the car.

'I knew something was going on because my wife and agent kept whispering but never in my wildest dreams did I think it would be a Jaguar.'

The platinum-coloured car was, in fact, a stand in supplied by Jaguar until Steve can choose the right colour.

However, in all the excitement of his home coming, Steve and family had forgotten one important detail - their front door keys.

Neighbour Mike Williams said: 'We were surprised to see the family drifting around the garden rather forlornly.

'The clamouring press were at the bottom of his drive, he'd just achieved what many thought was the impossible, yet here he was, unable to get in to make a cup of tea. The man is human after all, and he showed it by being very approachable for all his fellow villagers.'

Steve told the Free Press that it was always nice to come home to Marlow.

He said: 'As I came into the valley there were school children waiting on the side of the road with banners and flags, it was very special.'

People in the town are so proud of their hero, there has been talk of naming his former school, Great Marlow School, after him. Steve said: 'I have not really taken it in. Obviously to have a school named after you, well it is something I would never have thought of. It would be very special, I certainly enjoyed my days at the school.'

A street party will be taking place in Marlow on October 21 to celebrate his homecoming.

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