Hero's Welcome For Shooter Peter Wilson

Olympic medallists returning home after the London 2012 Games have received a hero's welcome.

Almost every member of Peter Wilson's tiny Dorset village packed in to the local hall to celebrate the 25-year-old shooter's gold medal in the double trap at the Royal Artillery Barracks.

Despite there being just 120 people on Glanvilles Wootton's electoral roll, nearly double that number gathered to cheer for their Olympic hero. 

The athlete admitted he was overwhelmed by the support he received, as he posed for pictures with local children for more than an hour. 

"This is just an absolute dream," he said.

"For everyone to turn out like this is very, very special, and to see these people so happy. It's very special. 

"People always talk about inspiring the next generation and this is what it is all about. The beauty about shooting is that you can take it up at any age and I truly believe that."

Last night Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt said the Olympics presented 'another side to modern Britain' following last year's riots in English cities, adding that the spirit of the Games could help solve some of the social troubles in the UK. 

"I think its totally wrong, even after the most amazing two weeks ever, in many ways, to pretend that we don't have huge social problems to deal with," he said

"But what I think the last two weeks does is it gives us a way through. 

"And I hope that the lessons of the last two weeks will go well beyond sport. We've shown what we can do if everyone pulls together, we've shown what we can do if we decide as a country we really want to think big and do something amazing. 

"If you look at some of the most intractable social problems, actually it's when people have stopped, they've stepped back and said 'let's really think about how to tackle this'."

"I think that's the kind of magic we want to put in a bottle and keep and splash around for as long as possible."