An urgent appeal has been launched to find foster carers to support children in need.

Cumbria County Council wants to recruit more people in Carlisle and Eden to provide homes for youngsters who cannot live with their birth families.

As part of a campaign launched today, 40,000 homes are being targeted in a maildrop across the district.

The county council currently supports close to 70 foster families in Carlisle and Eden.

Through the new drive for recruits - who care chiefs say do "something incredible for children in need" - the authority hopes to recruit a minimum of 20 people.

Despite the call for more families, all children who need a foster family have one.

But, without more foster families coming forward this year, the council says some children may find themselves living a long way from family or being split up from siblings.

Rosemary Glassbrook, a carer for more than 15 years, has described the rewards that fostering brings.

She said: "Fostering was always something I wanted to do.

"After my own children left home, my husband and I decided to go for it.

"For most of my life I've worked with children or had children in the house. I've raised my own children and looked after children as a child minder and nanny so I felt I had something to offer.

“In our 15 years fostering, we've looked after children from babies up to teenagers, to see the difference fostering makes even in just a short while is truly rewarding

“Fostering is more than a job, it's something you must be committed to and do it from the heart.”

Securing a greater bank of foster families helps reduce the chance of children needing support in emergency situations being placed outwith the area while longer-term plans are made.

For many children, they type of care given by foster families stops worsening what can be already traumatic times.

In Carlisle and Eden, there is a specific need to provide homes for brothers and sisters, older children and youngsters with complex or additional needs, including behaviour that challenges.

There is also a need for so-called short-break carers - those who provide a variety of types of shorter-term care, ranging from a few hours a week to a couple of weekends each month, giving a child's family or foster carers a break.

That type of care often includes children living in residential homes who need a a family-type experience for weekends and holidays.

The range of experience of foster carers in Carlisle and Eden ranges from 33 years, to one who was newly-approved in July.

Foster carers come from all walks of life.

Council care chiefs say that those interested will be fully supported through training, assessment and approval stages.

Once approved, foster carers then receive on-going support and training from social work professionals and other foster carers.