A CHILDLESS Worcester couple who applied to receive fertility treatment through a newspaper are expecting twins.

Lydia and Will Stark were selected to undergo a single cycle of IVF treatment after unsuccessful attempts to conceive naturally.

They were awarded funding for the procedure as part of the Birmingham Post's Funded Fertility Treatment for All campaign and are due to become parents on April 14, 2006.

Mrs Stark, a 29-year-old retail manager, and her 31-year-old husband, a teacher at South Bromsgrove High School, said they were thrilled at the news.

The couple, who married in 2002, had been considering a future without children after Mrs Stark was diagnosed with endometriosis and blocked fallopian tubes in her early 20s.

Mrs Stark said: "Getting funding and having our treatment has meant everything to us and given us the chance to be parents that we thought we'd never have.

"We were told that we qualified for NHS funding but so few women actually get funded by our Primary Care Trust in any one year that we would probably have to wait for years.

"After going to university, paying off our student loans and buying a house, we would not be in a position to pay for our treatment until I was well into my 30s.

"We only ever dreamed of having one baby and the thought of having two is wonderful."

The treatment was carried out at Midland Fertility Services in Aldridge, near Walsall.

The centre was approached by the newspaper to provide expertise for the campaign for NHS-funded treatment for couples who have difficulty conceiving.

MFS medical director Dr Gillian Lockwood said: "We are delighted that Lydia and Will's treatment has been successful and look forward to the birth of their babies."