I'M MUM TO 60 CHILDREN

Foster carer Michelle Milton, 48, wanted to make a difference – and she has, to so many

- LOWRI CHANT.

Sitting on the floor at the top of the supermarket escalator, I waited patiently as Michael*, nine, screamed and thrashed about, having a full-blown tantrum.

I tried to ignore the stares of passing shoppers, who were confused as to why I wasn’t attempting to control his behaviour. I knew what they were thinking – that he looked too old to be carrying on like that – but they didn’t know his background or the trauma he’d suffered.

As his foster carer, it was my job to be a calming presence and guide Michael through his overwhelming emotions, without judgement.

Michael is just one of the 60 children I’ve cared for over the last 16 years and, while it isn’t without its challenges, fostering is incredibly rewarding.

I was a police officer when I met my firefighter husband Paul while out on a job. We soon settled down in the Lake District and got married. We’d always wanted children, and wasted no time starting a family.

Our daughter Georgina was born in 2001, followed by Leonie in 2003. It was when the girls were just five and two that we made the life-changing decision to open up our home and our hearts to other children in need.

Fostering had always appealed to us, but it actually came about by accident. Through my job, I often worked with vulnerable people and was always more interested in helping them, rather than dealing with punishing offenders.

One day, while at a meeting with other agencies, I heard about a family in desperate need of support, and felt compelled to act.

‘If you’re ever stuck, give us a shout,’ I said casually to Shirley, a social worker, afterwards.