Imagine flicking through the Guinness Book of World Records and realising that you rightfully have the claim to one of its titles. This is exactly what happened to British twins Heidi Gannon and Jo Baines this month.
The sisters have made the record books 40 years after being welcomed into the world, for being the first twins to be born in different countries; they were born on different sides of the Welsh border.
The twins’ birth, back on 23 September 1976, was a very dramatic experience. Their parents, Carol and Graham, had no idea that they were expecting twins, and were delighted to welcome Heidi into the world at 9am in Welshpool Hospital.
After cutting the umbilical cord however, medics discovered that Heidi had a twin; as they were attending a small hospital, they needed to transfer Carol to a more specialised one in Shrewsbury, England. It was there that Jo was born, at 10.45 am on the very same day.
The pair made news around the UK with their story, and were referred to as ‘international twins’ by media outlets.
The sisters were unaware of their record however, and it was only while flicking through the latest Guinness Book of World Records that Heidi realised they had a claim to the title.
Heidi came across the story of three-year-old twins Dylan and Hannah Fox, who were born in Northumberland and Scotland respectively, and she got in touch to make the amendment.
