Brothers with a rare genetic condition have defied the odds after becoming the UK's first twin transplant patients.

Luis and Kian King, from Sileby in Leicestershire, Juvenile Krabbe Disease, which rapidly damages the nervous system and affects fewer than one in a million children.

It left the boys, who were born three months early and also have cerebral palsy, unable to walk unaided.

Their parents Laura Otter, 37, and Dean King, 39, were warned that their twin boys would lose their sight and ability to feed themselves, until they can no longer breathe unaided. The average life expectancy of a child with the disease is just 12.

Following their diagnoses in October 2014, doctors told the family the only way they could harvest enough stem cells for both boys was to find two matching donors.

Neither of the twins' sisters Ellie-Mae, 12, and Shannon, 15, were a match, nor are any of the one million people on the Anthony Nolan donor register.

Laura launched a UK-wide appeal for donors to come forward and appeared on ITV's Good Morning Britain in February last year.

But last year the charity managed to identify two units of umbilical cord blood containing stem cells which matched the twins' tissue type.

In April last year they underwent the stem cell transplants at Birmingham Children's Hospital. Luis had to have two transplants as the first did not work.

This week the boys, who are eight-years-old, were finally deemed fit enough to re-join their classmates at Ashmount School in Loughborough.

Laura, who quit her job as a hairdresser to look after the boys, said: "They have settled in really well.

"We are often late because of all the medication and things we have to do in the morning and everyone welcomes them when they get there and they feel very special when they walk in.

"They are both stable from the transplant but there has been progression of the disease in Kian. We are not sure if it happened during or post-transplant but he needs a lot of support walking.

"We are looking to do some fund raising to get him a more sporty wheelchair and get him into sport. He was very inspired by the paralympics.

"It has been quite an emotional battle for him as he can remember playing with friends and being the fastest.

"Luis is doing really well. They are getting stronger all the time and they are always smiling as we all get used to our new 'normal'.

"I've always called Luis and Kian my miracle babies as they've overcome so much already in their short lives, after being born 12 weeks prematurely.

"It feels like another miracle that, despite struggling to find them a suitable donor anywhere in the world, we've finally got the chance to give them a longer and happier childhood."

David Deacon, headteacher at Ashmount School, said: "We are delighted at how well Kian and Luis have settled in.

"They are doing really well, particularly in how they socialise with the other students.

"They are lovely boys."