A 63-year-old woman and a 65-year-old man have now become Britain’s oldest new parents—but to their dismay, Social Services found it best to take their one-year-old child away.
The couple have been left devastated at the decision, and have appealed for the child to be returned to them.
Their old age is thought to have been factored into the ruling, as it was found to affect the child’s well-being.
Apparently, social services have warned the parents last year that they need to make improvements in how the child was being cared for.
“They then decided that the called-for improvements had not happened and took the child into care,” a source said.
The couple, who remain unnamed, both hail from the north of England. They conceived the baby with the help of a surrogate mother who was in her 20s.
The surrogate was reportedly impregnated with the man’s sperm and a donor egg.
The entire process cost the couple more than £100,000, as they were said to have used a clinic overseas. No local centers would take them on because of their age.
The child’s British birth mother and her husband are named on the birth certificate; however, they signed a parenteal order allowing them to adopt the baby.
Social Services has been closely monitoring the case, and the child is reported to be in foster care.
The old couple have lost on their first attempt to regain custody, but they are not giving up hope. They were apparently allowed monitored visits to see the child.
The source said: “This is a very unusual situation. Although it is upsetting for all, social workers have done what they think is best for the child.”