The streets of London were packed on Monday as hundreds of thousands of well-wishers turned out to cheer Britain's sporting heroes in a last hurrah as the "golden summer of British sport" came to a close.

Olympics and Paralympics stars including Jessica Ennis, Sir Chris Hoy, Ellie Simmonds and Jonnie Peacock proudly wore their medals as they waved to fans from open-top floats which wound their way through streets full of fans.

Around 800 athletes took part in The Greatest Team Parade which passed crowds, dozens deep in places, who became a sea of red, white and blue as they waved Union flags.

Despite the Paralympics coming to a close with a rousing ceremony on Sunday night, the celebrations continued on Monday with a carnival-like atmosphere in the city. Pavements were thronged with thousands of people, while others leaned out of windows and from balconies to cheer the sportsmen and women.

Athletes and spectators were also treated to a spectacular flypast which roared over their heads.

RAF aircraft were led by the British Airways jet used to bring the Olympic Flame to the UK at the start of the Games. The flame-coloured Firefly A319 displayed a "thank you" message on its underbelly before the Red Arrows followed, leaving a trail of red, white and blue smoke in their wake.

The procession, made up of 21 floats grouped in alphabetical order by their sport, started off from Mansion House in the City and made its way through central London, ending up at the Queen Victoria Memorial on The Mall.

The stars of the Olympics' Super Saturday, Mo Farah who won gold in both the 5,000m and 10,000m, heptathlon gold medallist Ennis and long jump champion Greg Rutherford, were in the first three floats with Team GB's cycling stars including Hoy, Jason Kenny, Laura Trott and Victoria Pendleton on another. The parade, which included more than 90% of Britain's medal winners, also involved many of the volunteers and Games Makers who walked in between the floats.

As the procession came to an end, Prime Minister David Cameron told the crowd on The Mall: "This is the great British summer that will be remembered in hundreds of years to come. You showed us the best face of Britain, who we really are, one United Kingdom, one flag, one celebration. And you showed us all that we can be. All-welcoming, tolerant, vibrant, with a future every bit as exciting and thrilling as our past.

"On behalf of the whole nation, thank you. Thank you to the athletes, to Team GB, to ParalympicsGB. You have given us a golden summer of British sport and you have made us all so proud."