Thousands pay tribute to England’s Ashes heroes

MICHAEL VAUGHAN emerged from England’s mammoth Ashes party admitting the scale of their achievement only became clear when they witnessed the frenzied celebrations on the streets of London.

Captain Vaughan led his team on an open-top bus ride around the capital to Trafalgar Square and was greeted by thousands of cheering fans delighted at England's achievement in reclaiming the Ashes for the first time since 1989.

It was an impressive show of support for England's first Ashes series victory since 1986-87 and Vaughan admitted: "We woke up this morning and went down to the reception at the hotel and it was amazing to see the amount of people who were waiting outside to give us appreciation for what we'd done - some of the lads went straight from the bar!