Celebrating 18 years since she gave birth to triplets, hardworking York mum Linda Barker said: "I wouldn't swap it for the world."

Her three children, Thomas, Ben and Zoe have grown up to be strapping teenagers who are starting out on adult lives of their own.

But Linda, 49, of Haxby, said changing three sets of nappies, putting a trio of youngsters through school and dealing with triple helpings of teenage tantrums had not always been easy.

She said: "I've certainly had my hands full with the triplets and it has not always been an easy ride. But we've survived and I wouldn't swap it for the world.

"It seems like a long time ago that they were born. When they first arrived I thought: 'How will I love them all? How can I share my life between three?'

"When you have one it takes up all of your time and attention and focusing on three, I thought gosh, where do I start? But then each of them brought their own little personalities and that's how it develops."

Thomas, Ben and Zoe Richardson were born within 30 minutes of each other at York Hospital and spent the first hours of their lives in incubators. They weighed between 4lb 4oz and 5lb each.

They celebrated their 18th birthdays with a trip to the Tall Trees nightclub in Yarm with a group of friends.

Thomas and Ben both study business studies at York College and work together at the Monk Bar Hotel, while Zoe was today starting a new job in finance.

Linda, who has two other children, said all three were hard working and competitive. She said the two boys had recently passed their driving test.

She said: "They've got different personalities and they are trying to assert their own identity as they grow into adults."

Updated: 10:22 Monday, November 15, 2004