Epping Forest District Swimming Club siblings Emma and James Hollis have been selected to compete for ParalympicsGB at London 2012.

In April, the pair were accepted by the British Paralympic Association’s Qualification and Selection Panel, subject to formal confirmation of the slots made available for London 2012 by International Paralympic Committee Swimming.

These slots have now been confirmed and the Theydon Bois duo have been accepted as full team members alongside the likes of double Paralympic gold medallist Ellie Simmonds.

The pair, who have brittle bones, began swimming as a way of building up muscle to help protect their bones and will now compete at the highest level.

At the British Championships, Emma swam six seconds inside the qualifying time for the 400m freestyle, while James achieved a personal best in winning the 100m butterfly but was eight tenths of a second outside his target.

Emma also broke two world records in the S8 category at the BUCS Short Course Championships in November and followed that up with a European record at the Long Course event in February in the 800m.

James’ second chance to qualify came at the IPC International Long Course Championships in Sheffield.

The event doubled up as the final trial event for competitors to secure a place at the Paralympics, with James chasing a time of 59.49.

An impressive performance saw him become the first British S10 swimmer to break the minute barrier.

In the heats, he broke Jody Cundy’s 10-year-old British record with a time of 60.04 but improved further in the final as he clocked 59.53.

His effort was still short of the qualifying time but he has joined his sister making the squad.

ParalympicsGB Chef de Mission Craig Hunter said on Tuesday: “The competition in Paralympic swimming is increasing with every Games, but this team is one of the strongest we have ever fielded and it has genuine strength in depth across all 44 athletes.

“I have every confidence in the people we have selected and I am excited to see how all these outstanding swimmers perform in just under 100 days time.”

National Performance Director John Atkinson added: “It is great news that nominated swimmers have today been confirmed as competing for ParalympicsGB at this summer’s Paralympic Games. Although we were confident that we would get the slots, it is so exciting that they can now celebrate.”