IT IS the mother and baby group with a difference – where you literally have to look twice.

The Billericay Twins Club is still going strong after 34 years and provides a support network to mums and dads whose children are different, by being the same.

The club spans the generations, with the youngest member being just six weeks old and the oldest 35 years – the sons and daughters of founders Margaret Fowler and Wendy Greene.

The pair set up the group because there were no support groups for mothers in the area with twins. Their children Holly and Samantha Fowler, and Matthew and Jonathan Greene, remain its oldest members.

Since its beginning, the group, which meets at Christ Church Hall in Perry Street, Billericay, each week, has gone on to have 100 members and is, ironically, the only one of its kind in the borough.

Amanda Deacon, 45, has been the chairwoman of the club for about 13 years and first became a member when her identical twins Alex and Tom were about one year old.

Mrs Deacon said: “I decided to join the club after a stroll through Lake Meadows park one lunchtime about 12 years ago, when a group of about five mums with twins came walking towards me – it was like something out of the Twilight Zone.

“I asked them where they were coming from and they told me about the twins club nursery. After that, the rest is history.

“Looking back, I felt quite isolated at the time because I was the only mother in my antenatal group who was expecting twins.

“I got on well with the mums, but I couldn’t do many activities with them, such as going swimming or going on coffee mornings, because I had two young babies and I couldn’t take them alone.”

Mrs Deacon, of Beaufort Road, Billericay, said meeting new parents and sharing different experiences got her thinking about how she could help other mothers.

She added: “I got so much support from other parents at the group and we were able to lead one another and get tips about how to care for our twins.

“Over the years I felt there was not much specialist support for me, so I just had to do something to help other mums.

“The club has evolved over time and I and the other ten mums on the committee all share the responsibility of running it.

“However, we have had to move with the times because they have different demands on their time, so we have taken to social networking and Facebook to help spread the word.

“Most of all what parents of twins need is that one-to-one support. It is the secret of our success and why we are still here today.”

Around 12,000 sets of twins and 130 sets of triplets are born in the UK every year.

Melissa Williams, 34, from Hook End, Billericay, is mum to twins Abby and Grace, aged seven months.

She said she would be lost without the club. She explained: “It is important to have clubs of this kind specifically for parents of twins like me, because I get all the support I need from the mums and workers and it has really helped me to cope with the demands of being a mum.

“We all work together to support one another. We fully understand the struggles each of us goes through, so we can relate to one another.”

Helen Reeve, 32, from Noak Bridge, Basildon, has twin boys Albie and Stanley, aged two. Miss Reeve said: “From my own experience it was difficult at times juggling the responsibilities with twins, which is why I needed to join a support group close to home.

“I found talking with parents of twins made a real difference, because we had a lot in common, especially with the issues you come up against, such as when they both start crying, or are unwell. It has been an amazing experience and I’m glad I joined.”

The Billericay Twins Club is a voluntary group which relies on financial support from its members.

It meets on Mondays during term-time from 10.30am to noon. Parents with triplets are also welcome. For information about the club, visit www.billericaytwins.co.uk