Table tennis player Ashley Facey-Thompson is one of seven athletes to have been selected for Rio 2016 ©ParalympicsGB

ParalympicsGB have added a further seven athletes to their team for next month’s Games in Rio de Janeiro following the International Paralympic Committee’s (IPC) decision to impose a blanket ban on Russia at the event.

The places at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games, scheduled to run from September 7 to 18, were freed up after the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) dismissed the appeal of the Russian Paralympic Committee (RPC) against their suspension.

Those who have now secured a spot on the British team for the Games had narrowly missed out on selection but will now be given the chance to represent their country in the Brazilian city.

Crystal Lane is set to compete in the C5 road and track cycling events, while James Ball and pilot Craig MacLean will take part in the B road and track competitions.

Judoka Natalie Greenhough, who participates in the under 70 kilograms category, R5 shooter Tim Jeffrey, table tennis player Ashley Facey-Thompson and wheelchair fencer Gemma Collis, who competes in the women’s class E épée event, have also been called up.

The announcement by ParalympicsGB brings the total size of the British squad for the Games to 264.

“All of these athletes have trained incredibly hard over several years to be in contention for a place on the team,” Britain’s Chef de Mission Penny Briscoe said.

“I’m delighted that they will join ParalympicsGB in just two weeks’ time.

“They have continued to train in their sport programmes and I am confident they will be ready to show what talented athletes they all are when competition in Rio begins.”

Fencer Gemma Collis has also been called up to represent Britain at the Rio 2016 Paralympics ©ParalympicsGB
Fencer Gemma Collis has also been called up to represent Britain at the Rio 2016 Paralympics ©ParalympicsGB

Facey-Thompson admitted it was “surreal” to be realising his dream of being able to take part at the Rio 2016 Paralympics.

“It was frustrating to miss out on qualification by one point and now to be in the team for Rio is amazing,” he said.

“It felt a bit surreal when I found out that I had been selected and it still doesn’t quite seem real.

“I’ve been training with the rest of the team throughout the summer so I feel prepared but now I’ve been selected and I’m in the team I feel really happy.”

The IPC opted to ban the entire Russian team from the Games in the wake of the release of the McLaren Report, which alleged the presence of a state-sponsored doping scheme in the country, including at the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics and Paralympics.

IPC President Sir Philip Craven described the anti-doping system in Russia as "broken, corrupted and entirely compromised", while accusing the Russian Government of "catastrophically failing" its Para-athletes.

The Briton also said the "medals over morals" attitude in the country "disgusts me”.