One child can often prove a handful for a two parent family - so how did a single mum face up to coping with three adopted children from traumatic backgrounds?

Caryn Brooks did, and she doesn't have a single regret.

Caryn wanted nothing more than to adopt the three young girls she had fostered for six years so they could live permanently with her and her 16-year-old natural daughter, Megan.

Now Caryn, from Ivybridge, is encouraging other single people to come forward to do the same.

Long term foster carer Caryn said the process of adopting siblings Charlotte, 13, Jade, 11 and Jodie, 10, 18 months ago was a huge challenge, but the most rewarding thing she has ever done.

She said: "They were my family straight away. From a very early stage I felt I wanted to keep them.

"I decided I wanted to take the step to make them more stable.

"It was the best thing to happen in our house. When a child is adopted they know that someone wants them."

Charlotte said: "I feel happy and glad because I am looked after by a proper mum. I know I'm not going to go anywhere else. I know that she wants to look after us forever. It's better than fostering, where my mum would have to ask permission for everything I did."

As well as running a hectic house, Caryn continues to foster, and is currently looking after two girls aged seven and eight, as well as her own.

Charlotte said: "I like that I get to know other people and help them because I've been through the same things."

To mark National Adoption Week last week, Plymouth city council asked people to consider giving a needy child a stable and secure home.

Caryn said social services have given her "indispensable support" to enable her to look after so many children. She receives an adoption allowance, therapy for any child suffering psychological difficulties and 24-hour advice on the end of the phone.

Plymouth City Council's adoption agency manager Wendy Van Den Heuvel said: "When people think of adoption they often think of young healthy babies. In reality lots of the children needing adoptive homes are aged three to eight, or brothers and sisters who need to grow up together.

"Many have had difficult or traumatic early experiences, and have emotional or behavioural problems as a result. They need families who can provide the love and security they need to come to terms with their past and reach their full potential in life.

"At the moment there is also a particular need for families for young children with disabilities."

Caryn said: "The doors are open and there is a child out there for everybody and every situation. But it's not something to go into lightly. You must find out about their background and any potential problems."

Cabinet member for Children's Services Councillor Pauline Purnell said: "Anyone over the age of 21 will be considered whatever their age, background, sexuality, marital status, family size, employment status, race or religion."

For more information contact the Plymouth Adoption Team on 01752 306800 or email adoption@plymouth.gov.uk.