A swimmer from Bicester who helped Great Britain to win gold at the Paris Olympics has issued a heartfelt thank you to his hometown.

The Olympics drew to a close in the French capital on Sunday night after a festival of sport this season which saw Team GB take home 65 medals across the board.

Bicester lad Kieran Bird helped his team claim one of these golds on Tuesday, July 30 after he deputised for Duncan Scott in one of the heats.  

Mr Bird played an important role in helping the team win the heat which took them through to the final.

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Bird claimed a gold medal at the Olympics this summer.Bird claimed a gold medal at the Olympics this summer. (Image: David Davies)

Duncan Scott, James Guy, Tom Dean and Matt Richards then went on to win gold in the men’s 4x200m freestyle relay final, Team GB's first Olympic gold in the pool.

The athlete has now arrived back in the UK following the closing ceremony of the Olympics on Sunday night and issued a heartfelt message to his Oxfordshire hometown.

Posting on a Bicester Facebook group, he said: “Hi everyone, just got home from Paris and wanted to thank everyone for the amazing support over the last couple of weeks!

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“I’m not a regular Facebook user but mum has told me the whole town has backed me and I really appreciate it.

“Proud to have represented Bicester at the games.”

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