A TEENAGER who had both his legs amputated after contracting meningitis has failed in his bid to reach this year’s Paralympics.

Lyndon Longhorne was hoping to win a place in the Great Britain swimming squad for London 2012 – something he has dreamt of since the age of 13.

But he failed to achieve the qualifying times needed at the Paralympic trials at the weekend and has been left out of the team, which was announced yesterday.

The 16-year-old had his legs, an arm and the fingertips of his other hand amputated after contracting meningitis and meningococcal septicaemia when he was eightand- a-half months old.

He has shone in the pool since his grandfather, Terry Wheeldon, taught him to swim at the age of two.

The teenager headed into the Paralympic trials as British record holder in a number of events in the SM4 category, but to achieve the qualifying times he would have needed to break his personal best times.

Paralympic athletes are classified according to their disability, with SM1 for the most severe disabilities and SM10 for the minimally disabled athletes.

The overall winner at The Northern Echo 2009 Local Heroes Awards had been swimming more than 40km across 18 hours a week in an effort to achieve the standard.

But despite the setback, Lyndon, from Crook, is already looking forward to the 2016 Paralympics, in Brazil.

His mother, Tammy Shevels, said: “He didn’t have a good weekend. I don’t know what happened, whether it was the build up or the event itself, but he is fine. I don’t think he is too disappointed, it’s one of those things. We are going to sit down and discuss what is best for him and see where he goes from here. He was always aiming for 2016. This would have been a bonus.

“He has his GCSEs coming up, so is focusing on them and then he has some competitions coming up, which I am sure will get him back on track.”