By Juliette MaxamWHEN her school friends were revising for their GCSEs, Emma Burns was busy preparing for the arrival of her three tiny babies.Now while her friends are continuing with further education or taking up their first jobs, the 16-year-old is enjoying the fame of being Britain's youngest mother of triplets.

By Juliette Maxam

WHEN her school friends were revising for their GCSEs, Emma Burns was busy preparing for the arrival of her three tiny babies.

Now while her friends are continuing with further education or taking up their first jobs, the 16-year-old is enjoying the fame of being Britain's youngest mother of triplets.

Emma, who grew up in Clacton, gave birth to Jake, Cameron and Alexis on July 3 at the Norfolk and Norwich Hospital by emergency Caesarian due to onset of the life-threatening condition pre-eclampsia, which causes high blood pressure.

The babies, who were conceived naturally, were born eight weeks early - with Jake weighing 4lb 9oz, Cameron 4lb 2oz and Alexis 3lb 9oz - and were kept in hospital for a month.

Emma met her partner, Simon Bell, 24, at a barbecue after he moved to Clacton from Derbyshire for work.

They started a relationship and Emma fell pregnant - and although they suspected she was expecting more than one baby because she had a big bump already at just eight weeks, they were stunned when the radiographer pointed out three babies on the ultra-sound monitor.

The couple decided to set up home together in Codnor, Derbyshire, near to Simon's mother and he got a job as a bus driver.

But it was while on a summer visit to her mother in Clacton that Emma developed pre-eclampsia, which if not picked up can lead to the death of both mother and baby.

She was taken to Colchester General Hospital, but there were not enough beds available to cope with the triplets, so Emma was transferred to the Norwich hospital.

After a month in hospital, the babies were allowed home and are thriving, with Jake weighing 7lb 12oz, Cameron 7lb and Alexis 5lb 7oz.

The couple, who intend to get married early in the New Year, are trying to cope with their new family by doing as much as they can by themselves - and have been blessed with babies who already sleep through the night.

Emma said: “I miss my mum. I hardly have any time to sit down to myself and ring her up. I haven't had time to make any friends yet, but Simon's mum is great.

“I can't walk down the street without someone noticing the babies and stopping to ask questions.

“Someone the other day thought they were dolls, but I said 'They're real babies. It's a little girl in the middle with two boys either side'.”

The pair have attracted a lot of media attention and Emma said: “We're doing all of this for the babies, for them to see when they grow up.”

Emma added she wanted to take her GCSEs next year and then resume her studies, with the ultimate goal of becoming a primary school teacher.

In the meantime, she is enjoying parenthood and her fame as the youngest mother of triplets. “It's a really good feeling. It's just amazing,” she said.

juliette.maxam@eadt.co.uk