The Dawson family from Hertfordshire who have beaten odds of millions to 1 to have two sets of identical twin girls.; LtoR: Michele with Isabella, Sophie, Lilly and James with Chloe

Michelle and James Dawson had Chloe and Isabella eight weeks ago

A couple has bitten astronomical odds to have two sets of identical twins.

James Dawson, who works as a Litchfield’s estate agent in Crouch End, and his wife Michelle had their newborns Chloe and Isabella six years after their elder sisters Lily and Sophie were born.

“I am delirious, shattered and shocked. I was absolutely delighted when I found out. I wouldn’t have believed in a million years that it would have happened twice”, said an ecstatic Mr Dawson.

But the twins had to fight to survive.

Doctors warned Mrs Dawson that her babies had stopped growing the womb at just 20 weeks, and she had to undergo gruelling keyhole surgery at King’s College hospital to save them.

The twins were born two months prematurely, and were cared for in incubators at St Mary’s hospital in Paddington for a month.

“We could have lost them, and after all we have been through we are so grateful to have our special daughters, and want to thank the hospital staff,” Mrs Dawson said.

The twins are now happy and well at home in Hertfordshire with their older sisters.

“I cried for three days when I found out I was having twins the first time. Now I’m on cloud nine,” Mrs Dawson said.