Ice queen Amy Williams was the toast of Bath as she showed off her Winter Olympics medal in her home city.

The 27-year-old was given a hero's welcome as she toured city centre streets lined with people on an open-top bus this lunchtime.

The celebration was organised by The Bath Chronicle and the BBC after the former Hayesfield pupil became the first individual British gold medallist at the Winter Olympics for 30 years by winning the women's skeleton in Vancouver.

Hers was the only medal won by TeamGB, and she held it aloft as the bus made its way through Queen Square and Milsom Street towards the Guildhall, where a civic reception was held this afternoon.

She was accompanied by mum Jan, dad Ian and brother Simon, along with fellow athletes and sports officials.

The bus ride had started at her old school, where she was greeted by hundreds of pupils - including those from nearby primary schools.

She said at the school: “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.

“In that sense I did work hard and know I deserve it.

“I love my city. Whenever I’m away and come back, I feel such a relief to be back home.

“It’s crazy, just mad. I have come home and everyone knows who I am.

“Our sport wasn’t really in the spotlight before, even though we had great results in competitions.”

Pupils cheered as she addressed them at an assembly and answered questions.

“I wanted to be good at a sport,” she told them. “It’s trying out which sport to do. I was lucky at uni, they had a push track. I was at the right place at the right time to do something different and it just progressed from there.”

But she said her success came at a sacrifice and added: “At school I went home and trained or I got up early in the morning and trained. I wasn’t the one out late at night partying.

“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.”

She said remembering her achievements has helped her get through hard times in life.

She was given a photograph of the school and asked to come back to open a new sports facility.

She was also told that she still holds the award for the 200-metre sprint from her time in year nine and 10 during sports day. Her twin sister Ruth Fisher holds the 800-metre record.

More than 1,500 pupils chanting “Amy” cheered and waved Union flags as she left the school on the Bath Sightseeing bus.

People hung out of windows and off lamp posts to welcome her home.

Her brother Simon said the family were still coming to terms with Amy’s achievements but said the reception in Bath was making it all the more real.

He said: “It is absolutely amazing being back at her school and seeing this sort of thing for real.

“It is bringing it all home.

“Whenever we watch it on TV, it is hard to think that that is the same person who you sit next to in your lounge and have a chat with.”

Her dad Ian, a chemistry professor at the University of Bath, said: “Words like pride seem a bit of a cliche, but of course we’re tremendously proud.

“There is just a sense that all the hard work over so many years has paid off and it is great to be here sharing her achievements with everyone else.”

Her former PE teacher Lynn Young, who has worked at the school for more than 20 years, was also on board the bus, and said she was honoured to be sharing the special day with Amy.

She said: “If you are going to be a PE teacher and have the perfect pupil, Amy would be it.

“I don’t think anyone could have dreamed that there would be this big an achievement.

“I live and hope that we will get somebody who will go far and get a pupil who will go on to inspire and she has done just that.

“The girls are already asking when we are going to build a track here at the school.

“We couldn’t quite believe it when we were asked to be here today, it is such a honour.”

At the end of the parade, organised by the Bath Chronicle and the BBC with support from Bath and North East Somerset Council and Avon and Somerset Police, Amy said she was overwhelmed by the number of people who had turned out to welcome her home.

She said: “Now seeing all these people makes it a lot more real.

“It is all my dreams come true.

“I now know how important it is and what I have done in my achievement.”

She is now likely to become the first woman to be given the freedom of Bath.

A meeting of the city's charter trustees next month will be asked to approve the granting of the honour at a ceremony on June 5.

At the Guildhall, she was greeted by city mayor Councillor Colin Barrett and council chairman Councillor Bryan Chalker.

Mr Chalker said: “The achievement by Amy Williams is truly exceptional and it’s great for the whole district to have an Olympic champion born and bred here. Bath and North East Somerset Council was delighted to play a significant part in supporting The Bath Chronicle and BBC to help organise the event.”

Bath police helped the event run smoothly from the tour start at Hayesfield School to the civic welcome at the Guildhall.

Four police motorbikes flanked her bus, ensuring a safe passage through the streets and minimal disruption to other drivers, while four police horses escorted Amy for the last part of the journey.

More than 30 officers were on the streets ensuring crowd control and road safety and Supt Geoff Spicer said: "The event went off without a hitch as we had planned. It was a marvellous occasion for Bath and we were happy to play our part in helping celebrate Amy's success."

Meanwhile, the Bath Literature Festival has commissioned a poem about her from Angie Belcher, a Bristol-based actor and stand up poet who performed at last year’s Bath Comedy Festival.

It reads:

Hurling down the tunnel at 80 miles per hour

Curly wurly hair trapped beneath a helmet of aerodynamic power

With shouts and chants and support whistling through the wind in Vancouver

Slicing through the ice like a skating rink hoover

Arthur feeling the pressure of 58 years of the lack of heavy metal

He groans and plummets his belly filled with detol

Amy’s super belly wishes she’d stuck to running like previously

With coach smiling at the power of 0.3

Blackroc burns on the ice and the crowd goes crazy

Everyone has their eyes on the super fast lady

Andi’s looking nervous and Amy goes into a blur

Gold is the colour of our brilliant Bath skeleton girl.

Amy’s return to the UK triggered a round of media interviews and TV appearances, including a swift trip to BBC HQ to appear on The One Show last night.

She said she was enjoying the media attention and delighted to meet sports stars and celebrities but keen to remain grounded.

"The attention is not something I'm used to but I'll have to get comfortable with it. The other stuff is a massive bonus but I'm not going to change. I'll be the same person training hard to reach the next level.

"The gold medal has been a life-changing experience in that I'm now speaking to the media.

"But, ultimately, we're athletes - we train hard and work hard. We go to the gym every day, slide down slopes and travel the world. That will always be inside me."

She plans to buy a car with the proceeds of commercial deals and intends to spend time with friends, but her long-term goal is set on 2014.

"I’m looking forward to seeing all the people who’ve helped me or that I’ve ignored since last summer.

"I may not have my best season next year and I’m prepared for that because my body needs a rest. There’s a long time until (the next Winter Olympics) Sochi in 2014 and I want to be there."

This evening, Amy and her family were given a celebration party at the University of Bath, where she trains.

Hundreds lined the entrance and the main corridor of the Sports Training Village to welcome her when she arrived at 5.30pm.

Family and friends joined Amy in the Blues Cafe, where she was presented with a Bath Blue Glass bowl by deputy vice-chancellor Kevin Edge and a book of congratulations by Students Union vice-president for sport James Christmas.

A number of the city's leading sportspeople, including fellow Olympic gold medallist Jason Gardener, were in attendance and this evening's BBC Points West was broadcast live from the venue.

Amy told them: "I'm honoured so many familiar faces have come along to say 'hi' and 'well done'.

"I'm more nervous now than I was when I was waiting to start my first run at the Olympics."