Campaigning dads celebrate milestone birthday for twins

Twins Levi and Lucas Atwal-Brice celebrate their 16th birthday

The fathers of two sets of identical twins who all have learning disabilities say their two eldest have reached a milestone they thought they may never see.

Michael and Paul Atwal-Brice, from South Yorkshire, are parents to Levi and Lucas, Lotan and Lance.

Their older twins, Levi and Lucas, have a range of complex health needs including epilepsy and autism.

They regularly suffer potentially life-threatening seizures, one of which which left Levi in a coma aged six.

The Atwal-Brices, from Barnsley, have gained prominence for their campaign for access to medicinal cannabis.

And they are now celebrating Levi and Lucas turning 16.

Paul said: "Reaching this birthday is such a special milestone. A lot of people have followed our story, so we just wanted to share it with everyone."

The family spent the day meeting the characters of the children's TV show In The Night Garden at the theme park Alton Towers celebrating their journey so far.

And it was a double celebration for the pair, who found out they had been nominated for a national award.

They have been shortlisted in the inaugural Fatherhood Awards' ‘most inspiring father’ category, for raising awareness about LGBTQ+ adoption and fostering.

Michael said: "It was a bit of a shock - we’ve done lots of work over the years with Levi and Lucas to raise awareness, but there are lots of other inspiring fathers in our category too."