A great-grandmother who looked after more than 100 children in 50 years has been appointed an MBE for services to foster care.

Stella Tomkinson, 79, from Nuneaton, Warwickshire, said she had been told about the honor in November. She said although fostering had its ups and downs, "it is really rewarding".

Mrs Tomkinson said she had been "really lucky," adding:

I can honestly say that if I lived my life again, I would do exactly the same thing."

She and her husband Bill, a butcher, decided to become foster carers in the 1960s after discovering they could not have children. They adopted a five-week-old baby girl in 1962 and then put their names down to adopt further children - only to be asked to foster a little girl with health problems instead.

That prompted the couple to foster more children, including several with disabilities.

Read the full article about foster care from BBC News