Heartfelt homecoming for Caerphilly County's Olympic heroes

• Watch ITV Cymru Wales' report by Hannah Thomas

Two of Wales' Olympic heroes were congratulated in their hometowns on Friday for their success at Tokyo 2020.

There were joyful scenes in Blackwood and Ystrad Mynach, where people lined the streets to celebrate the achievements of boxing's Lauren Price and taekwondo's Lauren Williams.

The pair travelled along in an open-top car, showing off their gold and silver medals to the cheering crowds.

Lauren Williams became the first Welsh medallist for Team GB after winning silver in the women's -67kg taekwondo at Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

That was followed by Lauren Price who became the first Welsh athlete to win a boxing gold medal.

Price battled her way to Olympic glory in the women’s middleweight final defeating China’s Li Qian.

Born in 1999, Lauren Williams was a kickboxer before she made the switch to Taekwondo after having watched Jade Jones become Olympic Champion at London 2012 on her TV.

After only spending a few months as a senior, Lauren struck gold at the European Championships in Montreux in 2016. She was also selected as a reserve for the Olympic Games in Rio, before retaining her title as Junior World Champion later that year.

Lauren Price was born in 1994 in Newport. She has had a glittering career so far having previously been a four-time youth kickboxing champion.

She also has 52 caps for the Welsh football team.

But it has not always been award winning. When she opted to chase her dream of Olympic boxing glory over her promising club football with Cardiff City, she helped make ends meet by driving a taxi at weekends.