A pregnant mother is to become the youngest woman in Britain to give birth to two sets of twins – aged 21.
Annie Gladstone had her first pair three years ago and will now make the record books after falling pregnant with another set.
Miss Gladstone and fiancé Rich Porter, 26, conceived naturally but say they cannot understand their fertility as neither of their families has a history of twins.
The full-time mother to Lillie and Jayden is due to give birth on or around September 11.
The Royal College of Midwives says it is almost unheard of for a woman so young to have two sets of twins.
Miss Gladstone said: ‘When the nurse told us we were shocked. It took about a minute for me to begin breathing. Rich’s face went pale.
‘But after the initial shock we are, of course, delighted.
‘We’re having girls, so Rich and Jayden are about to get outnumbered. They say your second baby is easier to cope with than your first… we’re hoping babies three and four are a breeze,’ she added.
But the pregnancy is taking its toll on Miss Gladstone, who suffers from chronic symphysis pubis dysfunction – pelvic pain caused by the stress of carrying two babies.
She will use crutches to get around until she delivers the twins but reckons it’s worth the pain.
Father-to-be Mr Porter, of Farnborough, Hampshire, said: ‘I’m excited. I just hope we don’t have any more.’
Jacque Gerrard, of the RCM, said: ‘I have been a midwife for more than 30 years and have never seen someone at such a young age have two sets of twins in succession like this. As a mother of twins myself, I wish her well.’