THE father of a Paralympian has condemned Russell Brand for making fun of the athletes during a stand up gig.

Barry McClelland, from Lewes, whose daughter Faye McClelland is a paratriathlete, said the controversial comedian was “ignorant” and condemned his comments as “disgusting” after he criticised the Paralympics.

Brand, 36, is alleged to have poked fun at disabled athletes at a gig at the Pleasance Theatre in Islington, London, last week.

It is claimed he first criticised the Olympics, saying: “It’s boring Blue Peter sport and a waste of taxpayers’ money.

He then added: “At least the Paralympics have some kind of novelty value.”

Mr McClelland, who’s daughter won gold for the second year in a row at the Dextro Energy Triathlon ITU World Championship Grand Final, in Beijing, on Friday, said: “His comments are ignorant. I have got no time for the guy and I think it’s disgusting.

“I don’t like people who really bump up themselves by putting other people down. I thought what he did to Andrew Sachs was terrible.

Amazing “Faye goes in for a lot of events, including able bodied events, and wins them as well. Paralympians work extremely hard and what they do is quite amazing.”

Miss McClelland, 31, won her medal after completing the race, which combines running, swimming and cycling, in one hour, 16 minutes and 21 seconds.

She beat her nearest opponent, another Briton, by a massive eight minutes and 39 seconds to retain the title.

The former personal trainer, who was born without a left hand, only joined the GB paratriathlete team in January 2010 and has gone on to win at least six medals.

Paralympians including Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson, dressage star Natasha Baker and David Weir also slammed Brand for the comments, which they said were patronising.

Neil Coyle from the charity Disability Alliance, said: ‘It’s a feeble joke given the hard work that goes into the Paralympics. The comment might have been tongue-in-cheek but it’s offensive. It is really scraping the bottom of the barrel.”