Spain's Paralympic basketball team will hand back gold medals won at the Sydney Games after 10 of their players were found to have no disability. The Spanish Paralympic Committee (CPE) said yesterday it had ordered the medals to be handed back after an inquiry found 10 of the 12 members of the basketball team suffered no mental handicap.

The investigation also uncovered isolated irregularities in other sports. The CPE said it was continuing investigations to determine the eligibility of three other athletes, two of whom were medallists.

The scandal has already prompted the resignation of Fernando Martin Vicente as vice-president of the CPE and president of the Spanish Federation for Mentally Handicapped Sports (FEDDI), despite his denial of any wrongdoing. Officials said Vicente would be expelled from the CPE.

The committee began its investigations at the end of November following allegations by Carlos Ribagorda, a member of the team.