THEY stood on roofs, bus shelters, advertising hoardings and even cars. If it was in Middlesbrough town centre and not moving, then someone was standing on it.

Boro's Carling Cup heroes were given a rapturous reception as an estimated 150,000 fans packed into the town centre to celebrate last weekend's thrilling 2-1 win over Bolton at the Millennium Stadium.

Middlesbrough was painted red and white as 128 years of hurt were washed away in a 90-minute journey.

Led by four mounted police officers with horses sporting pristine red plumes, Boro's cup winners were cheered on by thousands of fans as they began their victory parade at the top of Ayresome Street.

After years of near-misses and faded dreams, this was payback time.

Youngsters lined the route clutching homemade tin foil Carling Cups, shouting and screaming for "Juni" or "Mendy" to give them a wave.

Teenagers ran alongside the bus as it wound its way through the town, proudly wearing their hastily purchased "Boro in Europe" T-shirts. Adults became children again as they got the chance to be part of Middlesbrough's history.

That history was all around, from the pensioner wiping away a tear with his vintage Middlesbrough scarf to the poignancy of passing the site of the old Ayresome Park where Boro spent 93 years before moving to The Riverside Stadium in 1995.

But the parade was also a glorious celebration of the present, and Boro's crop of superstars seemed as ready to celebrate as the fans who chanted their name along every yard of the parade route.

The likes of Brazilian midfielder Juninho, a World Cup winner with Brazil, and others were genuinely humbled by the devotion shown by the club's supporters.

It's all very well creating a carnival atmosphere in Rio in the middle of summer - achieving the same on a cold Sunday in March takes some doing in Middlesbrough.

They managed it though and, after making it on to Linthorpe Road, the crowd became ten or 12 deep with flags and banners as far as the eye could see.

"Boro fans from Egypt" said one - goodness knows what they made of it all.

There were Boro cheerleaders waving their pompoms in the air, builders hanging off scaffolding to get a view of the team and, showing that no one was left out, even a white terrier sporting snazzy red ribbons and rosettes.

The previous weekend's success was supposed to boost the local economy by £20m.

Some of that will have been paid back yesterday as the town centre ground to a halt, with workers pouring on to the street in celebration.

The bus followed them and, finally, it turned into the Riverside where more fans had congregated for one last singsong.

The players were introduced one by one until it was left to skipper Gareth Southgate to sum up what the day had meant to everyone concerned.

"Middlesbrough the football club, Middlesbrough the town and Middlesbrough the people," he said. "You are now winners."

It might have taken 128 years, but Middlesbrough came of age yesterday. It would just be nice if the next party came around a little bit quicker.

Read more about Middlesbrough here.