‘We do it because we love them’: The true cost of raising a a relative’s child

Almost overnight, Laura Thornton became the sole carer of her two young half-siblings at the age of 27.

Just weeks earlier the restaurant team leader, who was only a couple of months pregnant, had been planning her own family’s future with her partner. But then her life changed when her father’s partner tragically passed away and he was unable to look after their children, aged five and eight.

Laura made the decision to step up and…