BEING a mum is the most important job in the world. The hours are tough, the pay’s less than minimum wage and at times you want to throw in the towel. But all that disappears when a little hand slips into yours and a tiny voice says: “I love you, Mummy.”

Three Blackburn women and their husbands have put their lives under scrutiny for that perfect sentiment. Heidi Pugh, Yvonne Fraill and Farah Dalal have all adopted children.

MORE TOP STORIES:

Farah adopted a little girl at one and has three of her own children with husband Adam. She also fosters. Heidi Pugh and her husband Karl adopted their six-year-old son when he was a baby.

But Yvonne Fraill, 49, and husband Robert, who have two biological daughters, Kimberley, 26, and Anna, 18, a granddaughter and another on the way, never dreamed they’d be adopting at a time when they should be putting their feet up.

Their little boy came into their lives at 15 weeks old because his parents had special needs and couldn’t care for him. “They were very sad circumstances,” says Yvonne. “They are lovely people, but they just couldn’t look after him.”

Yvonne has fostered 50 children in the 10 years she has been a foster carer and was heartbroken when the last child was found parents after being with her for 18 months.

“It’s always hard to say goodbye when children have been with you for some time, but I was heartbroken when the last one went. We had to take him down to his new parents and even though you know they’re going to a lovely couple and it’s good that they’re moving on, it’s still very sad. We always treat them as our own and it feels like they’re one of your own because they’re with you for such a long time. He came to the family straight from hospital as he suffers from a rare condition, global development delay, which affects between one and three per cent of the population.

There are several causes, including genetic defect and problems surrounding premature birth. Children with GDD do not hit the developmental milestones like sitting up at eight months and crawling by 12 months.

They also have problems communicating and their intellectual functioning is below what is considered normal.

He is now two and is constantly monitored by doctors and undergoes physiotherapy to help his mobility.

Yvonne said: “From the day he came to us we knew he was extra special. They were still doing tests on him. He’s probably about a year behind his age group and at two he’s just starting to walk about. I’m hoping that will improve as he gets older, but I think he’ll always be a bit behind. Every time he goes for physiotherapy he just smiles. He’s a happy little boy.

“We just fell in love with him. When they started to look for families for him I said to my husband ‘what do you think?’ I knew what he’d say. The whole family, including my eight-year-old granddaughter, wanted us to adopt him. He’d become such a big part of our lives, we just couldn’t give him up. He touched my heart.”

So the couple put in for adoption and were somewhat relieved when they were accepted as his parents.

So what’s it like starting all over again when some people are dreaming of the days when the kids leave home?

“We love it,” says Yvonne. “I’m pretty fit because I’m constantly surrounded by children. We’ve got a caravan so we take all the kids there at weekends. We’re always active and doing. I’ve got a new granddaughter on the way in August, so he is the only boy, which makes him even more special. I never ever thought that we’d adopt, but it just goes to show you can never say never. He was just the child who melted our hearts. Besides, I’ve got two daughters who can both babysit – and one is even a social worker.”

Let’s Adopt, which encourages potential parents in the borough and surrounding areas, launched in January 2014. The campaign aims to raise awareness of the number of children who are desperate for a family, highlighting that those who are single, over 50, non-homeowners or gay can adopt.

See www.letsadopt.co.uk.