GWENT'S gold medal-winning Paralympian athlete came home to a riotous reception in his local pub last night.

Family and friends of Gareth Duke, who won an individual gold and a team bronze in Athens last month, gathered in The Yew Tree in Pontnewydd to celebrate.

The disabled 18-year-old won a silver and a bronze for Britain two years ago at the World Championships in Argentina.

He only hoped to get a team bronze in Athens, but instead found himself on the top of the scoreboard when he won the men's SB6 100m breaststroke title on September 24.

And he also set a new games record of 1m 29.93 seconds, beating the previous holder Travis Mohr into second place.

But Gareth didn't have time to rest on his laurels - later that same day he joined the men's 4x50m freestyle relay team to earn a well-deserved bronze medal.

Gareth's father Trevor Myers, 51, of Pontnewydd, was in Athens to watch his son's amazing achievement.

He said: "We all thought that he had a chance of a bronze, but he did what his coach told him, got next to the leader and stayed with him.

"When I was watching it I thought he had a chance of silver, but when he got into the second length he knew he had it.

"That night we went out on the town for a couple of beers. It's his first ever gold medal and we haven't stopped partying since.

"Next up it's the Commonwealth Games in Australia, and in four years time the Paralympics in Beijing."

Gareth said: "I was hoping to get a bronze out there. During the race I could see Mohr out of the corner of my eye but when it got to the end I didn't know who'd come first.

"It was my first time in the Olympics and my first ever gold medal. I was pretty tired after it but I had to go straight into the relay.

"And when I go to China in four years I'm going to get another gold."