Net twins fight goes to court

The twins are in the custody of the social services

Lawyers in Arkansas say they have filed papers with a court in Little Rock defending north Wales couple Judith and Alan Kilshaw's adoption of the so-called "internet twins".

Lawyers acting for a family in California and for the twins' natural parents have applied to the court where the twins were adopted to overturn the adoption.

They say the girls' natural mother Tranda Wecker lied about where she lived on the adoption papers.

The Kilshaws have vowed to keep the babies

But the Kilshaw's Arkansas lawyer Kelli Cashion told BBC Wales: "Our position is that the adoption was granted based upon Arkansas Law and that it should not be set aside and that the Kilshaws are the adoptive parents and should have the children returned to them immediately."

She said she had answered all the pleadings and filed all the necessary papers with the court.

On 2 February, a high court judge ruled the twin girls at the centre of the transatlantic internet adoption wrangle are to stay in foster care.

The outcome of a progress hearing in Birmingham, came hours after it emerged that north Wales couple Judith and Alan Kilshaw had been summoned to appear in court in the United States.

The twins were taken into care in mid January by Flintshire Social Services following the outcry surrounding the case.

Just days earlier, the Kilshaws had flown back to the UK from the US having spent £24,000 on their adoption.

Couple 'horrified'

The couple were served with a writ by a rival American couple shortly after they all appeared on the Oprah Winfrey talk show in Chicago at the end of January.

Richard and Vickie Allen - who say they also adopted the baby girls - have accused the Kilshaws of abducting the twins and deceiving both US and British officials in order to get them back to Britain.

Barely had the credits rolled on their tense TV confrontation when a lawyer, acting for the Californian couple, walked over to the Kilshaws and served them with the summons to appear before a court in Arkansas.

The Kilshaws, told the BBC they were "horrified" by this dramatic twist in the internet adoption saga, but intended to fight the petition.