AS Millie and Grace Gander squeal while big brother Thomas tickles them and chatter excitedly about fairies and princesses, they seem like any other five-year-old girls.

But the identical twins are, in fact, miracle children who defied all the odds when they were born prematurely at just 29 weeks.

The girls, who celebrated their fifth birthday in May and are just completing their first year at Rushcombe First School, have amazed doctors.

While mum Jo was pregnant she was told the girls had Turner Syndrome, which can cause heart and kidney problems, and the girls also suffered from twin to twin transfusion, a condition where one receives more blood than the other. The babies were born at 29 weeks by emergency caesarean with Millie weighing just 1lb 10oz and Grace weighing 1lb 14oz.

They underwent laser eye surgery at three months old and wear glasses as their eyesight was affected by the premature birth. The Turner Syndrome means they need daily growth hormone injections and suffer from ‘glue ear’, for which Millie wears two hearing aids and Grace wears one.

But they don’t let anything hold them back.

Millie said: “I want to drive a car and be a fairy when I grow up,” and Grace added: “I want to cook the dinner.”

Jo, a nursery nurse who lives with husband David, Thomas, eight, and the girls in Cogdean Way, Corfe Mullen, said: “The first three years were really hard because as part of the Turner Syndrome they never used to sleep and they didn’t eat solid food until they were nearly two.

“But now their hearts and kidneys are fine. “They’re doing really well at school and they’re both confident and independent.

“They like drama, singing and dancing, go swimming and both love their scooters.

“They’re proper little girls.”