THE centre of Tonbridge has never seen anything like it. Never before had so many people crammed on to the High Street pavements.

And not even on Jubilee day would so many Union flags have been flown in joyous celebration.

An estimated 30,000 people took time out to welcome back Kelly Holmes, the golden girl of British athletics who won double gold at the Athens Olympics in the 800m and 1500m.

A further 10,000 are thought to have lined the rest of the route from Kelly's Hildenborough home.

You could barely move for banners or flags or hear yourself for whistles and hooters as excitement mounted and the KM-fm road show began in the hours leading up to the parade.

Fans tried every trick in the book to get a good view on top of shoulders, on top of telephone boxes and even on top of three-storey buildings.

Flags and banners adorned almost every shop window as workers downed tools to watch the historic parade. As 3.30pm the allotted arrival time approached, the rise in excitement levels was tangible.

By 3.35pm there had been several false alarms as people further up the road started cheering, prompting a chain reaction down the High Street.

Then just before quarter to four, the bus came into view. Like the bride late for a wedding, she could be forgiven for arriving fashionably late.

Later, as Kelly stepped forward to address thousands of fans on Tonbridge Castle lawn, the applause rang out again.

Still bewildered by the scale of the parade and the support she had received, she declared: "I will never ever forget this as long as I live.

"I feel overwhelmed with the reaction today. It was bad enough being in the Olympic stadium in front of 60,000, but 40,000 here today is unbelievable."

Kelly thanked her friends and family for the support, and the organisers for staging the parade.

She added: "It's taken me 20 years to achieve my dream. I have always had this burning desire to be Olympic champion.

"For all of the low points I kept on fighting. This has made up for everything that has happened to me."

Speaking after the reception, Kelly said she still couldn't believe so many people had turned out on the streets.

She said: "That's the kind of things you see in London for the Queen."

Kelly admitted she had only been on one gentle jog since returning from Greece, and said she was also looking forward to changing out of her Team GB tracksuit.

She said: "It's all part of what I have done, but it will be nice to get into some normal clothes."

When asked if she was treasuring her laurel leaf head dresses presented during the medal ceremony as closely as her two gold medals, she admitted she left them behind in Athens.

"I was late for the bus and I didn't have time to take them. I took my medals thank God.

"They were a nice touch, although they messed up my hair a bit, though."