AFTER raising three daughters from a very young age the last thing Annie Doyle thought she'd be doing at the age of 50 was bringing up another child.

But when her 21-year-old daughter abandoned her 10-month-old baby she was forced to become a full-time grandparent carer.

"My middle child Ann Marie had severe learning difficulties, calcium deficiency and a hole in her heart, but I had a special bond with her," said Annie, of Cutler Crescent, Bacup. "When she was 21-years-old she became pregnant with Connor but her relationship with Connor's father was emotionally and physically abusive. When Connor was six weeks old I learnt that he had been taken into foster care.

"After having parenting lessons Ann Marie got him back but one day when Connor was 10-months-old my brother told me that Ann Marie had turned up at his house drunk with Connor, who had been given beer in his bottle.

"I went to the house and found that Connor was underweight , pale, and distressed.

"The following day I phoned the health visitor and the pair of them came to live with me."

But when Connor was 12 months old Ann Marie said she couldn't cope and fled to live in Manchester, leaving Connor in Annie's care.

Annie contacted Social Services and applied for a residency order.

Now nine years on and Annie has found raising a grandchild is not always easy.

"When Connor was three-years-old my marriage broke down," she said.

"I have struggled financially and emotionally and when you're older it's harder to cope with the bad behaviour.

"Sometimes Connor drives me up the wall but he's very lovable too and he's doing really well at school. I wouldn't change him."

A year ago Ann Marie died at the age of 29 following a morphine overdose.

"The last time Connor saw his mum he was two-years-old," said Annie.

"But I only ever tell Connor good things about her."

Pat McDermot, 51, of Rome Avenue, Burnley, is another grandparent carer who looks after her two grandsons, Daniel, 12, and Kyle, 10, full-time.

"My daughter left school to go to college to study hairdressing and in her first year she fell pregnant with my first grandchild," explained Pat.

"I was very angry at first but came round to the idea of being a grandmother."

Pat's daughter later met another man and had a son and two daughters, but all four children were taken into care.

"My grandchildren were in and out of foster care from a young age with their mother having supervised contact with them every weekend. One day we'd gone up to collect the boys and they started crying. I said That's enough, they're coming to live with us'.

"I've had them for five years now."

Pat admitted that she struggles financially to raise the two boys alone while working full-time.

"We're not given proper support by the government," she said.

"It can be really hard work for grandparents to cope with their grandchildren full-time. Sometimes I think I shouldn't be doing this, I should be out enjoying myself - I've raised my children'.

"We get money from the local authority but foster parents would get much more. They'd get money from social services for holidays, birthdays, clothing allowance, and travelling expenses.

"I'd like to see grandparent carers get the financial support we're entitled to. We should have access to all the benefits parents have. I would advise anyone taking grandchildren on to do this or go to a solicitor for advice."

Both Pat and Annie are members of The Grandparent Carer Network, a pioneering service aimed at supporting grandparent carers across East Lancashire.

The project, which is the first of its kind in the county, has been developed by New Era Enterprises and is funded by Lottery Awards for All cash.

Informal monthly meetings are held where they they receive advice, support, and share the highs and lows of bringing up grandchildren.

Fiona Duncan of New Era Enterprises, said: "Grandparents are very often the first port of call when a child is removed from its parents and yet there's very little support out there for them.

"We had no idea three years ago this was an issue. We did a research project in a small area of Burnley and gradually we found that lots of people were coming forward. Now we have more than 40 grandparent carers on our books.

"They often feel isolated and embarrassed by the circumstances in which they were left with the grandchildren.

"We make them aware that they're not alone. Financially they're forgotten about by the local authorities.

"We'd like to see grandparent carers getting the same financial support they would get if they fostered a child."

l To find out more about the Grandparent Carer Network visit www.newera.coop/projects/grandparentCarerNetwork or call 01282 450536