A British Paralympian will become the world's first disabled astronaut after being selected by the European Space Agency to join its training programme.John McFall, who saw off competition from more than 200 candidates, will take part in the space training corps as a "para-astronaut", with the hope that he can become the first disabled person to go into space as part of a feasibility study.

A British Paralympian will become the world's first disabled astronaut after being selected by the European Space Agency to join its training programme.John McFall, who saw off competition from more than 200 candidates, will take part in the space training corps as a "para-astronaut", with the hope that he can become the first disabled person to go into space as part of a feasibility study.