'My foster parents gave me a forever home'

A man who was fostered as a teenager has said his foster parents gave him a "loving and forever home" for six months, when he was only meant to stay for two weeks.

Owen said Liverpool couple Charles and Dianne Hubbert "loved him" and created a nurturing atmosphere at their Croxteth home which helped him grow in confidence.

The 21-year-old said some other carers treat fostering "like a job" but being with the Hubberts never felt that way.

The couple, who have two of their own children, have fostered more than 50 children over 23 years.

Owen initially came to the family for a fortnight just before Christmas but ended up staying for six months.

He celebrated his 18th birthday with the pair and has enjoyed being a close part of the family ever since.

"Going through the care system, a lot of people treat it as a job but with Charlie and Dianne, in the first two weeks, I felt like I had been there forever," he said.

"It was friendly, welcoming and they loved me, seriously.

"My confidence was through the roof, it was just lovely, like a family home straight away".

The couple were made MBEs in the New Year Honours list for their decades of helping others.

The Hubberts, who retired from foster care with the charity Barnardo's in June last year, have provided short-term foster care for those with disabilities and complex needs for more than two decades.

Over their years of fostering they made adaptations to their home for children.

Mr Hubbert said: "After school all the kids came here, the house has always been full of kids.

"The families would tell us they would look forward to coming here and thank us."

Ms Hubbert said: "We've got lovely memories, the children were our children, they were part of our family.

"It wasn't easy, but it was always worth it".

She said fostering had a profoundly positive impact on their family.

"If anyone is considering fostering, I'd say go for it," she said.

"It's not an easy job, but it's very rewarding, and these kids desperately need places to stay.

"If you can help, why wouldn't you?"

But the Fostering Network estimates 760 children across the north-west of England are still urgently waiting for foster homes.

Ofsted reported that the number of applications received from prospective fostering households in 2022 to 2023 was about 8,000 - 18% lower than in 2018 to 2019.

Barnardo's said younger foster carers were urgently needed with the average age of people fostering through them being over 55.

Brenda Farrell, UK Director of Fostering and Adoption for Barnardo's, who was the Hubberts' social worker when they first became foster carers, said the UK was facing a "foster care crisis at an unprecedented rate".

A "record number" of children are entering the care system and there is "an insufficient number of loving homes" to accommodate them, she said.

"Without enough potential foster placements, children are already at risk of being placed in unsuitable situations as a last resort."

Listen to the best of BBC Radio Merseyside on Sounds and follow BBC Merseyside on Facebook, X, and Instagram and watch BBC North West Tonight on BBC iPlayer.