Tom Kent, of Derek Road, doesn't know how many children he and his wife, Jan, have fostered in almost half a century, but guesses it could be up to 300.

"There are a lot of children out there and you don't know what's going on behind closed doors, but my house is a house of safety," said the 70-year-old.

"Myself and my wife both love children."

Rewarding

Tom continued: "A child comes to you and when they leave they are a completely different person – that's so rewarding.

"I can still remember the name of the first little boy that came to stay with us."

The couple decided to start fostering in the early 1960s, after seeing an advert in a newspaper.

Tom said: "I came out of the Army in 1962, and my first child was born in 1962.

"So, when we saw an advert for foster parents needed in the paper, we applied.

"The next day, this little boy turned up on our doorstep and they said 'This little boy needs a home', and that was it."

Celebrated

That first boy stayed with the couple for eight months and, since then, they have always had foster children in their home.

"Since our children have been born, we've always had foster children and we treat them all the same, we don't segregate, said Tom.

Tom and his wife, who recently celebrated their 49th wedding anniversary, have three children, 11 grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren.

They also have 11 "foster grandchildren" – children born to people the couple have fostered.

And the couple's oldest grand-daughter has followed in her grandparents' footsteps, and has become a foster carer herself.

Thanks

"She just loves children, the same as we do," said Tom, who still works from 5am to 2pm every day as the manager of a courier's depot.

He has kept up a close relationship with many of the children he has fostered over the years, even giving away one of his foster daughters at her wedding.

"They come back and say thank you," he said.

"We have a big Boxing Day gathering at my house and most of them come back with a card and a present."

The couple are still caring for three foster children, the oldest of whom has been with them for 12 years.

Tom and Jan have only considered "retiring" from their fostering role once, in 1990, but found themselves unable to turn down a girl who needed a home – she ended up living with them for nine years.

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