Infant taken off Britain's oldest parents who used surrogate

The parents' age is reportedly thought to be a factor in concerns over their one-year-old's well-being. Photo / 123RF

A couple who have become Britain's oldest parents through use of a surrogate mother at the ages of 63 and 65 are left "devastated" after their baby was taken away by social services.

The parents' age is reportedly thought to be a factor in concerns over their 1-year-old's wellbeing, the Daily Mail reported.

Social services first spoke with the couple, who are from the north of England, last year and warned them that they had to make improvements to how their child was being cared for.

It was decided that the necessary measures to ensure the child's well-being had not been taken and so social services took the baby into care, reported The Sun.

The adoptive parents spent more than £100,000 ($194,000) on the surrogate mother, who was in her 30s. It is believed that she was impregnated using the 65-year-old father's sperm and a donor egg.

They used a clinic overseas to complete the procedure as most in the UK would not deal with a couple their age.

The child's British birth mother and her husband were named on the birth certificate, but they signed a parental order letting the older couple adopt the baby.

Social services were closely monitoring the situation and decided to take the child away after concerns were raised.

The infant is thought to be in foster care while the adoptive parents continue to fight for custody - they have already failed in one bid but are believed to be allowed some contact in monitored visits.

A source said: "This is a very unusual situation. Although it is upsetting for all, social workers have done what they think is best for the child."

The adoptive mother refused to comment, as did the couple's local council.