WHEN she entered this world weighing just over 7lbs, little Isabelle could never have realised she was entering a living, and tightly knit, family tree.

WHEN she entered this world weighing just over 7lbs, little Isabelle could never have realised she was entering a living, and tightly knit, family tree. Her mother, Lauren Barnard, 22, delivered the baby girl into five generations of care on the birthday of her grandfather in mid January.

Lauren, who is a Special Constable and gave birth at the James Paget Hospital, said: “I expected it to be a boy, and we chose not to find out before so we named my bump 'Humphrey bump' but it turned out to be a girl. I was just so shocked when I saw her, and she wasn't even crying really, she was just sucking her thumb. She met the rest of the family later in the day.”

At the head of this family is Isabelle's great-great-grandmother Edna Hewitt, who is nearly 90 and who lives in Bradwell. Her daughter, Lynda Dougal, also lives in Bradwell; Lynda's daughter and Lauren's mum Sharon Barnard, 41, lives just a stone's throw away from Lauren and her partner Alex Macias, 25, in Gorleston.

For them, family is more than a matter of relations, and the phone calls between all go on daily, while meet ups are a regular event.

Lynda Dougal, who at 65 has become a great-grandmother, added: “For us, it's not just a case of mums and sisters, it's a case of being friends too.”