A newspaper is on a mission to get more people to become foster carers.

The Lancashire Evening Post launched its You Can Foster With The LEP earlier this month prompting a massive response from people interested in becoming foster carers.

Just a week after its launch Lancashire County Council’s fostering recruitment team reported a massive surge in enquiries an increase of 43pc.

The campaign aims to spur on an extra 1,000 enquiries from potential foster carers within six months.

Simon Reynolds, editor of the Post, said: “The response we have seen from our readers is fantastic and confirms, what we have always known, that people in Lancashire are very caring and kind-hearted.

“It makes me proud to think that the LEP can play a part in making a difference in the lives of so many children.”

Over the past few weeks the paper has been publishing a number of articles on fostering, including interviews with foster parents and an interview with local actor John Thomson who was adopted as a child and has given his backing to the campaign.

Gill Green, who is in charge of recruiting foster carers for Lancashire, said: “We have been really impressed with the LEP campaign and we know that a lot of people have seen the coverage as they have mentioned it to us, even if they haven’t made an enquiry about fostering themselves.

“We have seen a vast increase in the number of enquiries from potential foster carers and we are delighted by this.”