A NEW campaign has been launched to encourage more people to consider adopting groups of brothers and sisters.

The #YouCanAdopt campaign highlights the benefits of adopting more than one child and celebrates the bond of brothers and sisters.

Amongst those supporting the campaign are James and Anne, from Lancashire, parents to brother and sister Jack and Lucy.

James said: "When we decided to plan a family, we were met with fertility challenges and following unsuccessful attempts at IVF, my wife suggested we pop along to a local adoption event.

"I was a little sceptical about adoption at first and couldn’t get my head around how I could love someone else’s child, but I couldn't have been more wrong.

"During the process, our social worker asked whether we would be happy to adopt a sibling group.

"Two years after successfully adopting Lucy aged 17 months, we were informed her birth mother had given birth.

"We decided that we would then adopt Jack and our amazing family was complete."

Adoption Lancashire and Blackpool, the regional adoption agency for the county, is supporting the national campaign.

It has 30 children in care awaiting adoption placements. Included in this figure is six sets of sibling groups.