Rex
Two lesbian lovers have spoken of their joy at becoming mothers just five days apart after DIY artificial insemination from the same sperm donor.
Kirsty Cox and Anna Jones are bringing up three-month-old Scarlett Marie and Alfie, who are half brother and sister to each other.
The babies were conceived just two weeks apart with the help of friend Nick Lacey, a hairdresser who visited their home in Gloucester to make the sperm donations.
They both got pregnant at the first attempt through DIY artificial insemination.
"We are over the moon," Anna, 27, told the Mirror. "We have two beautiful babies and we're a really happy family.
We never thought we would have children at all but now we've been blessed with a family and we can't thank Nick enough for what he has done and for what he has given us.
Anna and Kirsty, 23, got married in June 2010, and were not prepared to have IVF due to the expense.
"We could have applied to the NHS but that meant only one of us could have it, and we both really wanted to have the experience of giving birth," said Anna.
"That's when the topic of sperm donation came up. We knew it might take a while to find the right person, but we were prepared to wait."
In November 2010, Anna's sister Lorraine got chatting to her hairdresser Nick about her sister's desire for children. After a series of meetings, they all agreed that Nick would be the one to donate.
"When we found Nick everything fell into place," added Anna, who is a full-time carer for her father.
"If we hadn't have found him I don't think any of this would have happened to be honest. And when we found him it all happened so fast."
The couple agreed with Nick that he would visit them once a week and they would keep trying until one of them got pregnant.
"To be honest, we expected it to take at least a year, if it happened at all," said Anna.
But just three weeks later, Kirsty became pregnant and a couple of weeks later Anna became pregnant too.
On November 5, Kirsty gave birth to Scarlett-Marie, who was two weeks overdue. Five days later, Anna gave birth to Alfie.
"We have taken to it really well, we absolutely love it. It's very tiring though," said Anna. "We couldn't be happier."
Nick, who sees the children once a week, said: "Although I don't see myself as their dad, I adore the babies and I intend to be part of their lives forever.
"I never imagined I'd have a child, and I never knew I'd have so much love for them."