British twins are saved from care by Australian aunt

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The two-year-olds had faced being separated in care homes in England until they were 18 because their mother Joanna, who is learning disabled, is unable to raise them.

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Adoption battle: James and Charlie with aunt Laura Backus

But their Australian aunt, Laura Backus, Joanna's half-sister, was determined to keep the boys together. She hired lawyers in Australia and England to help her adopt them.

Ms Backus, 27, who was born in Britain but now lives in Batemans Bay, south of Sydney, is single and without children.

She launched her adoption bid after the death of her father left Joanna and the twins with no other family in England.

But her fight has cost more than £20,000 in legal fees, flights and expenses and was marked by bureaucratic bungling.

Ms Backus said the boys had been declared "special needs" in Britain because their parents were.

"We treated them as normal, and they blossomed."

Adoptive grandmother Mary Backus said: "They are wonderful children."