Miracle triplets born years apart celebrate their first Christmas together in Somerset

  • Watch: The family will be together for Christmas Day for the first time this year

A group of triplets from Bridgwater are about to celebrate a very special Christmas - their first together with their family.

If that sounds strange, it is. Cameron, five, Isabella three and Gabriella, who's 17 months old, were born years apart, thanks to the science of in vitro fertilisation (IVF).

The children are considered triplets because they were all conceived on the same day, at the same time, through IVF.

Their parents, James and Karen Marks, who once feared they might never have children of their own, say they are a dream come true.

James and Karen Marks with their miracle triplets lsabella, Gabi and Cameron Credit: ITV West Country

The couple had fertility issues and tried a range of treatments unsuccessfully. They eventually won NHS funding for one course of IVF at the Bristol Centre for Reproductive Medicine (BCRM).

Karen said: "Six Christmases ago, when we were just starting our IVF treatment with Bristol Centre for Reproductive Medicine, you almost kind of lose hope.

"We had five embryos and there was a point that a part of me, thought we might have five children. But actually equally you never think you're going to get one - let alone three!"

The first was successfully implanted in Karen's womb and Cameron was born in 2018.

The couple saved the other embryos and Isabella arrived in 2020 while they welcomed Gabriella in 2022 - although her birth was not an easy one.

Gabi is the "youngest" of the triplets. Credit: ITV West Country

Because Izzy was unwell she had to spend Christmas 2022 in hospital, so this is the first Christmas the whole family have spent together.The family say they're three little miracles.

Karen added: "An absolute dream come true. I could never have imagined it, having three children, to having a chaotic Christmas day together.

"And yes, it's the big family I always wanted, really."