TWO Bradford families have won national awards after being nominated by their foster children.

Dads Mark Moorhouse and Nick Dennison were recognised for the love, guidance and support they give Luke Massey at the FosterTalk Foster Carer awards where they took the New Foster Carers accolade.

Mumtaz Begum was honoured for her commitment to teenage foster care over the past 25 years.

Luke, 18, said: "My dads have done everything to help me. They have even moved house so that I can stay with them long term.

"They always think of my needs first and are such caring and loving people. I can trust them with anything and I nominated them for this award because they have accepted and loved me for who I am and what I do."

Mr Moorhouse, of Thornton, said: “It means everything to us that we were nominated by our foster son. We foster because we want to show children who have had difficulty early in their lives that there are people who care and want to help them."

The couple are foster carers with Compass Fostering. Its managing director Bernie Gibson said: "Every single day people like Mark and Nick make an incredible difference to children’s lives and it is wonderful that their fostering contribution with Luke has been recognised in this way. I hope it will help to encourage others to step forward and foster."

Mrs Begum, who is a foster carer in Keighley with Bradford Council, was nominated by her daughter Nasreen Akhtar for the care she has given to the many children during the past 25 years.

Nasreen said: "I am so proud of my mum. As well as bringing up six children of her own, she has fostered children of all ages over the years and, more recently, has fostered teenagers which can be very challenging at times.

"Although English is not her first language, she hasn't let this set her back and is so brave. She is passionate about children and gives them lots of love and motivation to be the best they can possibly be. Some of the children who have been looked after by her still see her today.

"Even though she is over 60 now, she's still so strong! Rather than thinking about slowing down, she continues to give so much to the children in her care. I'm a student social worker now and that is because my mum has been such a fantastic role model."

Councillor Ralph Berry, the Council's portfolio holder for children's services, said: “This is great recognition for Mumtaz and the great work and dedication that she has shown over the years as a foster carer."

Hundreds of foster carers were nominated for the ten awards which were handed out by Minister for Children and Families Edward Timpson and television chef Lorraine Pascale.

FosterTalk is a national service providing specialist independent support to foster carers in areas such as legal and financial advice and counselling.