The parents of gold medal-winning cyclist Jamie Staff have been inundated with calls of congratulations - including one from the midwife who delivered him!

The 35-year-old former North School and Smeeth Primary School pupil picked up gold in the team sprint in Beijing last Friday.

Jamie’s parents Alan and Chris Staff watched nervously from their home in Brabourne Lees as their son rode to victory with team-mates Chris Hoy and Jason Kenny.

They then received about 100 calls of congratulations from friends over the weekend. “We even heard from the midwife who delivered Jamie,” Mrs Staff said.

From a young age Jamie loved bikes. “Every birthday and Christmas all he wanted was something to do with bikes,” said his mum, who works at William Harvey Hospital.

A day out with a friend got Jamie hooked on BMX bikes and Alan and Chris then spent Saturdays taking him to the track in Folkestone and later bought a caravan to follow him round the country and round the world, dealing with broken bones along the way.

At sports days in Smeeth the school made Jamie start cycle races much further back than his classmates. But Jamie still won. A video may still exist of Jamie jumping over 24 schoolchildren at the school, much to the horror of the head teacher.

After going to the North School, Jamie was offered a second interview for a job as a quantity surveyor, but had a six-week wait so decided to go to America to earn some cash. While he was there his talent at BMX was noticed.

He stayed for eight years and won countless BMX titles, but it was not then an Olympic sport so would not bring the ultimate prize – Olympic gold.

So he switched to track cycling.

In America, Jamie got married and had children. Two years ago, the Staff family moved from sunny California to drizzly Manchester to train with Team GB.

His discipline and dream has now been rewarded.

Jamie is heading to his home in Manchester before coming to Ashford with wife Malia and three-year-old twins Theo and Grace at the end of next week.