Fostering: It's like winning the lottery, says Shropshire biker Mick

But instead of being a hellraiser Mick and his wife of 40 years, Eileen, have six children, 22 grandchildren, 12 great grand children and another on the way. And among those is one very special little girl.

She is 10 and Mick and his wife Eileen have been fostering her for three years.

Since the age of seven, they have opened their doors and hearts to the little girl to provide her with a safe and secure upbringing in the rolling Shropshire countryside.

There are approximately 50,000 foster families in the UK and the number of children in care is currently 91,000 with two thirds, approximately 62,000, living in foster care.

According to the Fostering Network, approximately 30,000 more children come into care over a 12 month period, with similar numbers leaving the care system to return home, move in with another family member, live with new adoptive families or move on to live independently.

Mike, 57, and Eileen, 59, turned to fostering after their own children, aged between 30 and 40 years old, had flown the nest.

"We worked in a factory," said Mick. "And we were both made redundant. It was hard to know what to do next but we knew we wanted to do something worthwhile and decided to have a go at fostering.

"Our grown children were very supportive and totally understood why we felt we needed to do what we have done."

Mick may not look like your typical carer – for one thing he is covered in tattoos, including several on his face and for another he rides a motorbike.

"Never judge a book by its cover," said Mick, who with Eileen has looked after children needing respite housing and also one needing a long term home previously. "Our foster daughter is part of the family. The first time she told me she loved me my heart nearly burst.

"I am not saying that the whole process has been plain sailing and we have come up against some situations we haven't known how to deal with but we have had so much support, from the foster agency, from other foster parents and from within our own family that we have been able to work things through. Bringing up our own children helped but as everyone is different it has been a learning curve.

"She can live with us as long as she needs, she can stay until she is 21 if she likes. She is part of our family now and I cannot imagine her not being here. She is now in a stable, loving and happy environment and the change in her has been incredible. Seeing her happy and hearing she say she loves you is like winning the lottery."

Mick and Eileen count among a number of families fostering in the region, but more are needed.

According to latest figures there is a shortfall of 8,600 foster carers in the UK and in the West Midlands this is 925.

It is currently Foster Care Fortnight, a national campaign to encourage more people to consider opening their home to foster children, and a survey released to coincide with it has revealed around a quarter of adults across the West Midlands, including Shropshire, would consider becoming foster carers.

The YouGov poll found that 25 per cent of those surveyed in the region would consider fostering now or in the future, compared with a UK average of 24 per cent.

The survey also found that 72 per cent of local people felt positive about foster carers and the work that they do.

Speaking about the findings, Foster Care Fortnight co-ordinator James Foyle said: "It's great that so many people in the region would consider fostering.

"Foster families do a fantastic job in providing homes, stability and security for thousands of vulnerable children. But we need more of them.

There are currently around 6,600 West Midlands children living with foster families.

The Fostering Network estimates that a further 925 families are needed in the West Midlands this year alone, particularly to look after teenagers and children with disabilities, as well as providing homes to groups of brothers and sisters.

Kate, from Telford, said she had been fostering for three years and has looked after 14 children in that time.

She said: "Some come for a few nights while others have been with me for a few months while they wait to be adopted or reunited with their families.

"I was a primary school teacher for 20 years and I brought up my own family. I have four teenage children; three of them still live at home and they all get involved in making the children we foster feel part of the family and feel at home.

"I am currently looking after two foster children. It keeps me really busy and every bedroom in our house is full.

"My husband is a headteacher at a primary school and although he is really busy with his career when he is at home, he is fully involved in caring for the children.

"We are a large family with a large house that has the space and bedrooms for me to look after two foster children at a time."

Though she loves looking after these children, Kate says managing her time can be difficult.

She said: "It's like a daily juggling game to prioritise where and when we need to be as I need to be available to transport the foster children to contact visits with their birth parents. I'd be lost without my diary.

"Although I have worked with children all my career, being a foster carer is the most rewarding of all the jobs I've done. You can actually see that you are making a difference to a child's life and that your input is of real value."

Rebecca, who lives in central Telford, said: "I'm both a foster carer and a childminder and my house is always full of children.

"The children I look after become part of the family and when we don't have a foster child it feels really empty and incomplete.

"Since I was approved the longest I have been without a child was three months and for that period we didn't get paid so having my husband's income and childminding money was important.

"I first started fostering 12 years ago as a respite carer but a year ago I became a full time foster carer and since then have looked after nine children. I have two children of my own and both have grown, blossomed and become more caring since we have fostered.

"As a family we are closer and we now do more as a family unit.

"Anyone can apply to be a foster parent but if you have experience in childcare, nursery or early years or have worked with children, that helps enormously with your confidence to look after other people's children."

Fostering together are Chris and Carl who settled in Telford after moving from the Black Country.

"Our oldest children had their own lives and moved away and our youngest son became like an only child," said Chris. "Our home didn't feel like a home without lots of children in it so we thought about fostering.

"After seeing a few advertisements for fostering and speaking to existing foster carers, we approached a few agencies for details and the information we received from Telford & Wrekin Council seemed honest and open so we arranged a home visit.

"Instantly we had a rapport with the social worker and over the weeks of form filling, assessment and then the panel we felt we could ask any question and get an honest answer however difficult.

"The Skills to Foster training course was enlightening and put into context all of the issues we could face as foster carers and made me really question whether fostering was for us. But we knew it was.

"Since we were approved in June 2013 we have had 11 foster children.

"It's been a pleasure and hopefully we can continue fostering for many years to come."

Anyone wishing to find out more about foster care can contact Foster Care Associates on 0800 023 4561 or visit www.thefca.co.uk

Alternatively 'like' FCA on Facebook by visiting www.facebook.com/fcafostering

FCA welcomes applications from single parents, married and co-habiting couples as well as same sex couples.

Alternatively log on to www.couldyoufoster.org.uk

Key questions about fostering:

• What is fostering? - At it’s simplest foster care provides a home for a child who is in need of care. The majority of this care is provided on a temporary basis but can last for years. How does fostering differ from adoption? - Fostering is different from adoption because the local authority in which the child lives remains responsible for them as their ‘corporate parent’. In many cases, it is also important to maintain links with the child’s birth family. What sort of children need fostering? - Some children will come into care because they have been abused or neglected, others because a family member has become ill. Who can foster? - Recently a survey found that almost a third of people didn’t think they would be accepted as foster parents. This isn’t the case and in fact, anyone over the age of 18 in England is eligible to become a foster parent.