A foster carer is backing a drive to get hundreds more people into the role across West Yorkshire.

Former IT worker Colleen Callaghan, of Cleckheaton, became a foster carer five years ago and said she has never looked back. She and husband Stephen have so far hosted between 60 and 80 placements at their home.

She said: “It’s definitely the most rewarding job I’ve ever done, and anybody can do it.”

Mrs Callaghan said she became a foster carer after 17 years working in IT.

She said: “I’ve never looked back. It’s just the best thing ever, making a difference in a child’s life.”

Mrs Callaghan said saying goodbye to children at the end of their placement could be hard, but it was always for the right reasons. And she said her son, 15-year-old Matthew Smith, and her two adult step-children had been supportive of their foster family.

She said: “Matthew says it’s like having an instant family.”

Last week, Mrs Callaghan was at a fun day in Leeds celebrating foster carers from West Yorkshire, held to mark Foster Care Fortnight, which runs until Sunday. The event was held by Foster4Yorkshire, a partnership between local authorities in Leeds, Calderdale, Bradford, Kirklees and Wakefield.

Councillor Judith Blake, of Foster4Yorkshire, said: “We are looking for more potential foster carers to come forward and meet with us.

“Whatever your personal circumstances, whatever your age, whatever your family background, come forward and talk to us and we will make an assessment on an individual basis.”

Foster4Yorkshire is hoping to find 35 new foster carers in Bradford and 45 in Kirklees during 2013/14. To find out more, visit foster4yorkshire.org.

l A new campaign to recruit foster carers in Yorkshire, run by Bradford-based agency Eden Fostering, has been unveiled by Children’s Minister Edward Timpson. Eden supports foster families across Yorkshire and Humberside, working with local authorities to find foster carers from a wide variety of backgrounds in order to match the needs of children coming into care.

For more information, visit compasscommunity.co.uk/eden- fostering or call freephone 0800 002 9015.