From correspondents in London, England, 04:31 PM IST

An Asian couple in Britain has taken a legal route to gain custody of their twins - after a white surrogate mother refused to hand them over when they were born early this year.

It is thought to be the first time that a surrogate mother, with no genetic connection to the twins, has insisted on keeping them.

'They may not be my eggs but I grew these babies inside me. I nourished them to birth and went through a life-threatening emergency caesarean to have them,' Margaret (not her real name), a 42-year-old single mother who has two other children, told the Daily Mail.

'I would be devastated if they are taken away from me now. The law regards me as their mother and I regard them as my children,' she said.

The Asian couple, who are affluent and live in a detached 650,000-pound house, have refused to speak about their legal action so far.

Trouble started soon after the friendship between the Asian couple (identities withheld) and Margaret broke down in the first few months of pregnancy last year and the surrogate decided to keep the babies.

Surrogacy is legal in Britain - though arrangements between a couple and a surrogate are regarded as a private agreement and not enforceable by law.

According to medical experts, the Asian couple must now prove in court that Margaret is an unfit mother before they can apply for custody of their twins.

The surrogate is so desperate to keep the twins that she turned down 25,000- pound from the Asian couple to hand them over, telling them: 'The babies are not for sale - at any price.'

The present case has fuelled criticism by surrogacy critics who have long regarded the practice as fraught with potential problems.

(Staff Writer, © IANS)