ABOUT 150,000 people are expected to line the streets of Middlesbrough tomorrow, to hail Boro's Carling Cup heroes.

Organisers yesterday revealed details of the route the victory parade will take through the town, allowing people to see for themselves the first football silverware to arrive in Middlesbrough in 128 years - and to pay tribute to the players who brought it to the town.

The team will be displaying the cup from an open-top bus and the procession will begin in Ayresome Street, at 2pm.

Led by a police escort, the cavalcade will travel past the site of Boro's former Ayresome Park ground, turn left on to Linthorpe Road, then down Borough Road to the North Ormesby roundabout. It will continue over the roundabout to the Riverside Stadium, where the parade will end.

There are no celebrations planned within the stadium and Chief Superintendent Mark Braithwaite, Middlesbrough police district commander, last night discouraged people from going to the 35,000 capacity stadium.

He said no parking would be allowed anywhere near the ground.

He said: "I know it's taken some time to announce the route, but that's because an awful lot of care has gone into it."

"There are plenty of advantage points along the way, but my message to everybody is to spread themselves out along the route. Safety is of paramount importance.

"There will only be limited access to the stadium itself, and I will be keeping a very close eye on the stadium and if I have to seal the approaches to the stadium, I will do that."

The route was devised by Middlesbrough police, council officials and the club. The cavalcade will travel just over two miles, moving at walking pace, and should take about two hours to reach the stadium.

Councillor David Budd said the morale boost the win had given the town was apparent everywhere.

He said: "It's given a tremendous lift. We're not going to go back to where we were before."

Chief Supt Braithwaite congratulated the fans on their behaviour at the cup final, pointing out that there had no trouble involving Middlesbrough fans.

"There were no arrests and no ejections from the ground. That reflects extremely well on the fans and football as a whole.

"It was a fantastic day last Sunday, and I hope another fantastic day this Sunday."

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