A MENINGITIS survivor who lost both legs, his right arm and part of his left hand as a baby has become the UK’s first quadruple amputee model.

Six weeks ago Lyndon Longhorne, from Crook, County Durham, was setting a new national record for the 50 metres breaststroke at the British International Paralympic Swimming Championships.

Now the 20-year-old Northumbria University student is embarking on a new career as a model and actor after being snapped up by Tyne Tees Models.

Not only does this make Lyndon the country’s first quadruple amputee model but he is only the second in the world, following on from Karen Crespo's appearance in Carrie Hammer’s New York Fashion Week show in 2014.

Lyndon, who narrowly missed out on a place in Team GB at the Rio Paralympic Games this September, now has his sights firmly set on Tokyo 2020.

However, the self-confessed “photoholic” is also excited about his new model status and hopes to inspire other people with disabilities to be proud of their bodies.

“I am a confident person and love striking a pose and having my photo taken,” he said.

“I was thrilled when Tyne Tees Models said they wanted to sign me up. It’s a fantastic opportunity to raise the profile of people with disabilities. I hope my pictures will give people the confidence to follow their dreams.”

Lyndon was just eight months old when he was struck by meningitis but he has never let his disabilities hold him back.

He first got into the pool aged two and has been swimming competitively since he was 12-years-old.

In 2013, he learnt how to walk without crutches after being fitted with prosthetic legs and in 2014 he received a bionic hand.

Besides his many swimming accolades, Lyndon is a former overall winner of The Northern Echo’s Local Hero Award, an Olympic Torchbearer, a Meningitis Now ambassador and a budding entrepreneur in the process of setting up his own sportswear brand.

For Lesley Lister, director of Northumberland-based Tyne Tees Models, he was a natural choice.

She said: “Lyndon is fantastic, a lovely, happy person and a true inspiration. People tend to think all models have to look a certain way but that is not true at all. We have a diverse range of models on our books, from babies to people in their eighties.”

Anyone who is interested in booking Lyndon for modelling or acting work can contact Tyne Tees Models on 0191-237-3400 or mailbox@tyneteesmodels.co.uk