Real-life mermaids take centre stage at Telford swimming pool
Real-life water babies Nola and Nancy-May Beamond have been making a real splash down at their local swimming pool thanks to their eye-catching mermaid outfits.
The Priorslee Academy pupils have become the envy of all their friends thanks to the special swimsuits which were a birthday present from mother Kim.
Nola, who is seven, and Nancy-May, five, have been swimming mad since Kim first took them to her local Water Babies class when they were just eight weeks old.
Kim, who is 47, said the girls themselves spotted the costumes while searching the internet.
"They both said they wanted them for their birthday," said Kim, of Priorslee.
"I thought I would have to get them from America or something, but after a bit of searching I found somewhere that makes them in this country."
Nola and Nancy-May, who both share the same October birthday, first wore the costumes at a joint water party at Hadley Learning Community pool to mark the occasion.
Kim says her daughters regularly go swimming at the Holiday Inn in at St Quentin Gate, where they had attracted a lot of attention.
"Everybody knows them there now," she said.
"All their friends want them, they're always trying them on. The thing that is quite unusual about them is that there is a single tail, so they have to learn to swim with their legs together."
Nancy-May said: "The thing I like best is that people think we are real mermaids."
Kim said both girls were extremely confident in the pool and particularly enjoyed swimming underwater.
"Nola is a very good swimmer, she can do a length of the pool underwater," she added.
