TENS of thousands of proud Britons lined the streets of London yesterday to pay tribute to the nation’s Olympic and Paralympic heroes. Our athletes won a grand total of 61 gold medals at the two Games in Beijing – and a fantastic 149 medals in total. It was the best performance by our Olympians since 1908 while the Paralympians were beaten in the medals table only by host nation China.

The 350 athletes, including a number from Worcestershire, who gathered in London yesterday deserved the adulation of the crowds. The parade provided a welcome respite from the economic gloom and a terrific reminder of the inspirational sporting performances enjoyed by so many of us during the summer.

Inspiration, especially for young people, is so vital as we head towards London’s Games in 2012.

The more youngsters inspired to take up a sport by our successes in Beijing, the better our teams will do four years from now.

It is a shame, therefore, the parade was held when it was. London is the obvious choice for such an event but to stage it on a Thursday in the middle of the school term leaves a lot to be desired.

Why not wait until the half-term school holidays? Why not stage it at the weekend?

We are sure there were many people – and many children in particular – who would have loved to pay tribute to our Olympic and Paralympic stars. That they were denied the chance to do so because of poor scheduling is a great shame.