Jane Ingram made medical history 18 years ago by giving birth to “miracle” triplets against all the odds.

East Anglian Daily Times: Jane Ingram with (left to right) Olivia, Ronan, and Mary, aged four. Picture: MICHAEL HALLJane Ingram with (left to right) Olivia, Ronan, and Mary, aged four. Picture: MICHAEL HALL

Now the mother-of-seven, who used to live in Thurston, is planning to celebrate her triplets 18th birthday and her own 50th by walking the Great Wall of China for a charity which supports West Suffolk Hospital – where she spent 10 weeks.

In September 1999, Jane gave birth to Olivia, Mary and Ronan, who came into the world at odds of 60million to one.

What made the birth at King’s College Hospital, London, so unusual was that Ronan was born as a result of an ectopic pregnancy – the world’s first.

The two sisters settled inside the womb as normal but the third egg – Ronan – got trapped inside the Fallopian tubes, with the foetus surviving and developing by creating a second “womb”.

Consultant obstetrician Davor Jurkovic, who led the team, told the media at the time that the birth was a miracle of modern science.

He said: “The chances of such an embryo surviving, let alone developing, is one in 60 million.”

A team of 26 doctors delivered Ronan and his two sisters by caesarean section in less than an hour and they then spent 10 weeks at West Suffolk Hospital, in Bury St Edmunds.

The birth brought the family world-wide media attention and they were entered into the Guinness Book of Records.

Jane will now take on the Great Wall of China to raise money for My WiSH Charity, which supports the hospital.

Jane, who now lives in Bridlington, East Yorkshire, said: “I wanted to do something out of the norm, to celebrate our survival and give back to those that really mattered, those professionals who looked after us so wonderfully well, professionals who work so hard and tirelessly and still continue to do so for others.

“If it were not for these professionals the four of us would not be here to tell our story today. I am raising money for the West Suffolk Hospital Neonatal Unit.”

Jane will climb the wall with sister Kim Mitchell, 38, who is raising funds on behalf of her nine-year-old son, Sam, who has Tourette’s syndrome.

The challenge starts on October 7 and Jane has been training since January last year – losing two stone in the process.

The pair will be climbing thousands of steep steps, covering more than 50 kilometres, for seven hours a day over five days.

Jane split from the triplets’ father Mark eight years ago and moved to Bridlington in 2013 with partner Michael Andrews, 57, formerly site manager at Beyton Middle School, who now works at a pupil referral unit in Hull.

Jane has brought up four other children – Samantha, aged 32, who lives in Wymondham; Rachel, 28, from Sapiston who is a chef at a care home in Bury St Edmunds; Daniel, 27, who is currently travelling round Australia; and Tomas, 20, a chef in Bath.

Of the triplets, Olivia works at a local zoo, Ronan is studying child social care development, at East Riding College, and Mary is studying art at the same college.

Jane, who works as a secretary at a social club in Flamborough, said she is hoping to raise £3,000 for My WiSH.

She said: “I really do not think the four of us would still be here if it wasn’t for the dedication and care we received at the West Suffolk Hospital.

“Now that my children have grown up I needed to do something for myself which would get me out of my comfort zone and I’m hoping to raise £3,000 at the same time.

“I have never forgotten the people at the West Suffolk Hospital and the dedication they showed and I always said that I wanted to give something back.”

Jane has set up a fundraising website and people can donate by clicking here.

On the page, she added: “If everyone who looks at this page could only donate the minimum £2, Olivia, Mary, Ronan and myself would be so grateful and this would make our journey so much more worth while.”