My miracle black and white twins!

MUM-to-be Shirley Wales joked that if her twins were born one black, one white, she would name them Ebony and Ivory.

But when it actually happened, Shirley didn’t go through with her plans made in jest, and has instead named her babies Leo and Hope.

Because of Shirley’s Grenadian dark skin and the babies’ father being white, there was a slim chance of the twins being born with different skin colours.

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And sure enough, little girl Hope has the fair hair, blue eyes and light skin tone of her dad, while brother Leo has the dark skin, brown eyes and thick hair of his mum.

The pair, who were due on Shirley’s 21st birthday, were born two weeks early by Caesarean within a minute of each other on July 22 at Dewsbury and District Hospital.

Shirley, the daughter of a Grenadian mum and a white dad who is also a twin - said: “I couldn’t believe it when the midwife told me they had different skin tones.”

The hairdresser, of Anne Street, Batley, said she had joked during her early pregnancy that she was having twins because she kept dreaming of them.

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When she realised it was true, she then joked they would come out black and white.

“Now I just need to joke about winning the lottery and that might happen too!” she said.

“As soon as I could, I texted all my friends and I said, ‘You’ll never believe it, my babies are black and white!’ and my phone was a hotline. Nobody believed me - they kept saying it was because I’d joked about it!”

While she was in hospital, Shirley said she was inundated with visitors wanting to catch a glimpse of the twosome, including nurses from other wards.

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Now, 15 weeks, later the babies are still stealing all the attention.

Shirley said: “They’re my little miracles. They are so different, they’re absolutely worlds apart. People just need to be open-minded, it can happen.”

Head of midwifery at Mid Yorkshire Hospitals Trust Anne Ward said: “Births like this are very rare and this is not something even the most experienced midwives may see during their career.

“I’m pleased mum and the twins are doing well and wish them all the very best.”

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Director of the Multiple Births Foundation Jane Denton said twins born with a different skin tone were an increasing phenomenon.

She said: “Non-identical twins are no more genetically alike than any other sibling, and although in this case their different looks will be more striking, it’s not unexpected or unusual.”

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