She may seem like the woman who lived in the shoe. But Denny Lapworth tells Nicola Dowling she wouldn't have it any other way.

Andi is 18 and has worked hard to get a good job as an engineer. But he makes no bones about the fact he would have been in prison now if he had not gone into foster care.

Keiron is 13, was lacking in confidence and would not entertain cuddles or tactile affection until recently. Today, he is full of the joys of an outward bound course he went on and took only a little persuading to give his foster mum a cuddle for our picture.

"Keiron has a speech impediment and learning difficulties. If you had seen him two years ago, you would be surprised. He would sit quietly and not look up," said foster mum Denny Lapworth.

"After a while, his confidence improved and one day he just came home and said he had been to join the army cadets on his own. He's just won a holiday for being the best in his troop.

"He can read the maps and do the work there, but it must be twice as hard for him as the other kids. I am so proud of him." The lads are just two of a swarm of kids who are in and out of Denny's house in Stocking Farm. She has a beautiful home with a great view of the city, but the woman who lived in a shoe inevitably springs to mind as the youngsters trek in and out.

There are natural kids, foster kids, grandkids and neighbours' kids. But to an outsider, there is nothing to distinguish who is who.

"That's how I like it," says 40-year-old Denny who yearns for a bigger house so she can have more foster children. "The people in the street just know them as the Lapworth kids."

When distinctions have to be made, the family and the kids give themselves the affectionate nickname of "the fozzers". But to mum, they are the kids, plain and simple.

They bring the same problems, growing pains, and stresses as her own kids and the same pleasure. She first got involved in fostering three-and-a-half years ago.

"I used to be a taxi driver. I would pick up and deliver kids who were in care and I ended up getting attached to some of them. I thought, 'I could have them living with me,' so I decided to get involved,"

She admits she's had kids who did not fit into the house, caused problems and even the odd disagreement with social workers.

But she maintains the benefits are massive, despite the fact that she has volunteered to provide long-term foster care for school aged and teenage boys who are commonly recognised as the most difficult group.

She said: "I like a challenge. I think I am still young enough to be on a par with the kids and I think teenage boys get a rough ride.

"Having older children also allows me to retain my independence, and I knew if I took on young mums with babies I would become too attached."

"I can't imagine not being a foster parent. I hate my house being empty.

All my own children have left home now - it would be so boring without the foster children." Whether she takes another foster child or not, Andi maintains her house will never be empty because he has no intention of ever leaving home. He has lived with her and her husband Gary, 45, for three years.

He said: "I would live here till I'm 30. It's dead good and I love Sunday dinner. Denny is my second mother. I've been in care since I was 10 and lost count of the number of foster carers I had after 16. It wasn't good.

"I went into care because I was getting in trouble with the police with my older brothers. I needed to get away from their influence. If I had not gone into care, I wouldn't be sitting here now I would be in prison." Denny has two other foster children, Joseph, 11 and Matthew 21. She has two children of her own, Nina, 21, and Gareth, 20, and three grandchildren.

Used courtesy of the Leicester Mercury Story filed: 00:06 Friday 27th July 2001