Rotherham lesbian acts as surrogate for couple

Kate Fruin-Smith, aged 37, from Rotherham, who has five children, including one conceived with a sperm donor, agreed to become a surrogate after meeting a struggling couple via Facebook.

Tracy and Pete Akoun, from Portsmouth, looked into surrogacy after a string of miscarriages.

They joined a Facebook group and met Kate, along with Tricia Hunt, from Chichester, who are both lesbians with their own families and who agreed to help the couple have children.

Nyobi and Kenya who were born last summer exactly one month apart using Kate's and Tricia's eggs and Pete's sperm.

Kate, who gave birth to Kenya, received £550 a month in expenses and Tricia received £750.

Under UK law, the surrogate is the child's legal parent until the intended parents are granted a parental order six weeks after birth.

Kate, who works in a children's nursery and gave birth to a girl for another couple three years before agreeing to help Tracy and Pete, said: "I had no doubts whatsoever about handing the baby over.

"The child was conceived to never be my baby - all through the pregnancy it was their child. Tracy is a very emotional person so it was amazing to see her light up at the scans.

"It's so rewarding to know you can make that much difference in somebody's life."

Tracy, an assistant manager in a care home, said: "All you ever hear is the negative side of surrogacy. But for every negative story there are 40 or 50 positive ones.

"They are your children from the word go."

Sam Everingham, the father of two girls born through surrogacy and founder of Families Through Surrogacy, said: "We are seeing a rise in couples trying to access surrogacy in the UK."