WHEN Leah McGill gave birth to twins last August, it was a pleasant surprise.

But she was stunned when nine months later her sister Karen had her own set of twins.

The family has no known history of twins, but both have become mothers of a boy and a girl.

Leah, 28, from Priory Vale, works part-time at Swindon Pressings.

Her children, Chelsea and Tyler, are now nine months old.

She said: "I never expected twins because it is not hereditary, and I only found out when I was 20 weeks pregnant.

"I don't know if bringing up two children is that much harder than one because I've not known anything different.

"Even at this age you can see their personalities coming out, Chelsea is a strong character while Tyler is more laid back."

The sisters live near each other and say they meet up every day to share the workload.

Karen McGill, 27, of Groundwell East, works at Thames Water and already has one daughter, Elise, who is 18 months old.

Her twins, Lauren and Jack, were born just two weeks ago.

She said: "It is definitely twice as much work, but I wouldn't have it any other way.

"It's amazing that we both have twins, and I think the children will grow up to be very close.