Canvey today (Wednesday) celebrated the glory reaped by their very own superstar.

Bob Spink, Castle Point's MP, said: "We are all tremendously proud of Dean and I have been following it closely. The whole of Britain is proud of him, and if it had not been for the injury he might have done better."

Staff at Waterside Farm sports centre - where Dean used to work - were united in their pride.

For more on Dean Macey's bronze medal-winning performance see 'Athletics: Macey's best is enough for medal' and 'Athletics: Macey takes bronze' in our Local Sport section and 'Canvey: Pub pals' cheers for local hero' in the drop-down list at the bottom of this story Receptionist Linda Grant, 54, said: "I kept waking up throughout the night to watch Dean. I thought his performance was brilliant. He was so determined even when he had that injury."

Leisure officer Wayne Curtis, 29, said: "I stayed up most of the night watching Dean. His performance was excellent considering the way he was all patched up.

"Dean has really put Canvey on the map."

Irene Blackshaw, head of reception, said: "Dean has done really well and we are really proud of him."

Fred Ingham, 50, centre manager, said: "I have known Dean for ten years and first knew him as a lifeguard. It's amazing that he's now a top athlete. He uses the centre for winter training and the track is his home track. He is very much involved in athletics at the centre and helps out a lot with the youngsters. They all really look up to him."

Deano's Army show that Essex boys rule

Dean was cheered on by 700 British fans as he romped to victory in Canada.

As he sank to his knees in sheer exhaustion, one fan summed up his tremendous efforts: "He was amazing."

Sitting among the vociferous crowd were eight members of Dean's family, all wearing matching T-shirts with "Deano's Army" emblazoned on the front.

Flags and banners saying "Essex boys rule" were proudly waved around the stadium in Edmonton as Dean was proudly presented with his medal.

One fan said: "The support was absolutely brilliant. There were lots of fans at the Olympics in Australia but we were scattered about.

"Here, because they let you go where you like most mornings, everyone followed Dean and it was brilliant."

The Macey family clearly enjoyed the exciting two days of action although mum Pat admitted that at times it was hard to watch.

She said: "It's terrible. It's just as bad here as it is watching at home, so you might as well come out here, it's a better atmosphere."

The family and the rest of "Deano's Army" make every effort to go along to the majority of the star's competitions.

However, their presence in Canada was largely due to a blunder on flights to the Olympics.

Pat said: "We got free flights. That's why we're here. They mucked up our flights going to Australia and when we got home we had a nice letter from British Airways.

"They said we could have free flights to anywhere in the world this year, so we all jumped for Canada."

Converted for the new archive on 19 November 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.