A PROUD mother has entered her two sets of twins into the Mail’s Baby And Toddler Of The Year competition.
Mum-of-six Rachel Steele beat odds of 10,000 to one and gave birth to two sets of non-identical twins.
Demi and Dylan Stephenson were born four months ago, four years after the birth of their big brothers Corey and Lewis Shade.
Miss Steele, 25, of Preston Road, east Hull, also has two older children, Steven, nine, and Becky, six.
Now, the youngest twins will go head-to-head for the title of Baby Of The Year, while the older twins will compete for Toddler Of The Year.
At the Mail’s free photoshoot, the twins behaved impeccably, but Miss Steele admits she has her hands full.
She said: “It is double the trouble, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.
“It is really nice for them because they always have someone to play with. They always have a close friend.”
Bookies William Hill said they would offer a woman with no children odds of 10,000 to one that she would have two sets of twins in her lifetime.
Once a mother has given birth to non-identical twins, she is five times as likely to have them again.
As such, if she made the bet after already having one set of twins, a spokesman for William Hill said her odds would fall to five to one.
Miss Steele said: “I knew it could happen because non-identical twins run in my family.
“My great-granddad, my granddad and my mum are all twins, but it was still a shock. I was gobsmacked when I found out.”
Dozens of youngsters have had their professional photographs taken in the contest.
There are four age categories for parents to enter their children into and the winners will share a prize fund of £3,000.
Our photographers will be in the former JJB unit, on the Harbour Deck of Princes Quay shopping centre, until Saturday, March 13.
They will be there from 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday, and from 9am to 5.30pm on Saturday and from 10.30am and 4pm on Sunday.
All you need to enter is a token, printed in the Mail every day until Saturday, March 13.
Miss Steele said: “The difficulty for us is that our family will have to vote four times, because we have to vote for each one individually. “Twins are never cheap.”
Once your child has had their photograph taken, parents will be given a date to return to choose the photograph that will be printed in a full-colour photo supplement in the Mail on Tuesday, April 13.
Voting will then get under way.
People will then be asked to collect Mail voting coupons during the first stage of the competition.
The four age categories are up to nine months, 10 to 18 months, 19 to 36 months and three to five years.
The overall winner will scoop £1,000, a framed colour photograph and a trophy.
The winner of each category will receive £500 and a framed black and white photograph.
taken from This Is Hull & East Riding