A couple from Co Antrim have received an award from the Prime Minister for fostering more than 250 vulnerable children in 45 years.
Diane and Patrick McCourt from Larne first became foster parents when they were in their late 20s in 1978, when they already had two young children of their own.
Their eldest son, Adrian, was five years old and their daughter, Karen, was only three at the time.
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The pair have opened up their home to vulnerable foster children in Northern Ireland in the 45 years since and continue to do so now, despite both being in their early 70s.
On Wednesday, they were named as joint winners of the UK-wide Point of Light award.
The Points of Light awards are given to "outstanding" volunteers who make a difference to their community, and UK prime ministers have named winners every weekday since April 2014.
The award was announced by the Prime Minister's Office and as a result, the couple will receive "a personal letter of thanks" from Boris Johnson as well a Points of Light certificate.
Mr and Mrs McCourt have welcomed children of all ages into their home for a range of care periods, from from several weeks and months care while children are in the process of moving to permanent homes, through to years of fostering and adoption.
Speaking to Belfast Live following their award win, Diane McCourt said they are over the moon.
"I'm not used to a fuss being made, we just see this as part of our life," she added.
"We've enjoyed doing it, we've enjoyed playing with the kids and getting them sorted them school - just doing activities and seeing them coming on. Some of them you had to put a lot into as they've had a harder start than others.
"It was just seeing them turning around and enjoying their lives, having a bit of fun when some of them hadn't been able to do that before.
"I like babies, but I wasn't so keen on going into the hospital to have any more. I was talking to a girl one day and she had a baby in the pram, and she said she was fostering them.
"It gave me the idea of wanting to do that, so I spoke to my husband and he agreed, so we decided to apply and see how we would get on. It just kept going from there."
When they began taking foster children into their home, Mr McCourt worked as a clothing factory manager while Mrs McCourt had a full-time job cooking, cleaning, and caring for dozens of children.
Despite caring for children for so many years, the couple are reluctant to put their feet up and call it a day, recognising there's still a huge demand for foster parents in Northern Ireland.
Diane said: "It is worth noting that there is a real need for foster parents in Northern Ireland and perhaps this award might make people see how we have loved doing this and might make someone else consider doing it in their life.
"I would recommend people should give it a go and have a try. We have been lucky to have had these children in our life and I suppose that’s why we still foster today.
"If they get as much enjoyment out of it over the years as we have, they'll be glad they took the first step and did it."
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