"I look back and think – it's the best thing we ever did."

Jayne and her husband Roger are currently fostering two sisters aged six and eight, who have complex needs and a boy aged 15, who has ADHD, autism and short-term memory loss.

Jayne, 58, said:

"The youngest sister is six, but because of her condition, she's much smaller than children of the same age, and she's actually only just going into four-to five-year-old clothes."

Yet despite the trials, the couple, who have children and grandchildren of their own, are over the moon at the progress that the children are making in their care and now will keep them long term until they turn 18.

Jayne added:

"The eldest is in a special school, where he has been since he was six, and he's done really well, managing to hold himself together and attend school. He has 100% attendance, and he really enjoys going to school."

"The sisters that we have now would have been separated because of their needs, so we think that that in itself is worth something, as at least they will grow up together, and they'll know each other.

"The eldest sister is cheeky! She got her glasses on Saturday, and put them on and said, 'I can see you properly! What's that line on your head?' I said, 'That's a wrinkle!'"

A former solicitor, Jayne swapped court rooms for foster caring 15 years ago when she realized her own three children, now 38, 32 and 28, were growing up. After talking about it with Roger, who still works as an electrician, the couple decided to look into fostering.

She said:

"My youngest child was about 15 at the time, and I just suddenly said, "I'm not ready to stop being a mum! So, we looked into fostering.

"'When we first started, we weren't sure how long term we would foster for - but it has been the best thing we ever did. We've had some ups and downs, and there have been challenges, but we look back, and we think, how many children have we helped?"

To anyone interested in fostering, Jayne's advice is to look at each child individually, and to seek as much training and support as possible.

She added:

"I'd recommend considering each child as an individual and also, getting as much information and training as you can.

"But it's honestly worth it for us, and we wouldn't have it any other way."

Foster With Us Lancashire offer 24/7 support to their foster carers including a supervising social worker, local support groups and mentoring, as well as specialist training which is personalised to your needs.

*Anyone interested in finding out more about fostering in Lancashire can phone 0300 019 0200, or visit Get in touch with our Fostering Team - Lancashire County Council