CARING people in Ramsbottom are being urged to consider life as a foster parent as part of National Fostering Fortnight.

Ramsbottom's Family Placement Team plan to use the countrywide event, which starts on May 12, to highlight the continuing and urgent need to find more foster carers in the borough.

Diana Powell, placement team manager at Bury Metro, said: "The fact that we currently have 117 children and young people placed with foster carers shows that local families and individuals do care. However, we need more.

"In particular we are looking for foster carers for older children, teenagers, groups of brothers and sisters as well as youngsters with disabilities and those from a wide variety of ethnic backgrounds.

"We also need carers who could look after a child for just occasional weekends and during school holidays, although on a regular basis. At the same time, foster carers are required to support pregnant teenage girls until they can move on to independence with their baby."

Coun Mike Connolly, executive member for health and social services, added: "Fostering can be very rewarding as well as challenging and foster carers are not alone for we provide them not only with lots of support, but also any training they need.

"At the same time, there is also financial support and a support group. Foster carers can be as diverse as the children who need to be looked after and we draw from the whole spectrum be they married or unmarried couples, single, have grown up children or their own or are even grandparents."

Anybody interested should call into Unsworth Library, Sunnybank Road, Unsworth, where a special display is on show. Alternatively contact Bury Family Placement Team on 0161 253 5457.