BRINGING up babies can be a costly business – especially when you have triplets!

So Milnsbridge couple Matthew Collins and Leanne Chambers were delighted when family and friends rallied round to raise money for their three new arrivals.

A charity car wash, raffle and barbecue were held at the Coach and Horses pub in Linthwaite on Sunday and raised £300 for identical triplets Scarlett, Lilly and Evie.

The girls were born at Leeds General Infirmary’s special care baby unit on April 15, four weeks early.

Matthew, 32, a self-employed plasterer and hairdresser Leanne have managed to find space in their three-bedroomed home for the new arrivals.

But they face an expensive future bringing up their bundles of joy – as well as their three-year-old son Lewis and daughter Georgia, seven.

Realising the costs involved, Leanne’s mum Julie Earnshaw, who owns The Salon in Slaithwaite, decided to raise some cash for her new grandchildren.

She arranged the Coach and Horses event and took part in the car wash herself, along with employees Amanda Hirst, Lyndsay Fretwell, Sophie Maude and Kath Sanderson.

Leanne, who also works as a stylist at her mother’s salon, said: “The event went really, really well. It was very busy despite the weather. I’m pleased mum arranged it because every little helps.”

Her triplets were delivered by pre-arranged Caesarean at 34 weeks. Scarlett weighed 4lbs 7oz, Evie was 4lb and Lilly was the smallest at 3lbs 9oz.

Their arrival stunned Leanne’s consultant, who said she had never before in her career come across identical triplets being born without fertility treatment. It only happens in around one in every 150,000 pregnancies, when a single egg divides into three, or an embryo divides into two and then one of the embryos splits again.

While caring for triplets can be stressful, Leanne and Matthew are coping well with their new arrivals.

Leanne said: “The girls are doing really well and we are coping well too. It’s not too bad, it’s a case of sticking to a routine and they’re very good because they just feed and go back to sleep.”