 Ken and Lilian Hawkins pose proudly for the camera with the boy they helped to save from a life without love. But the smiles mask a desperate heartache for the Birmingham foster parents. The pensioners are now too frail to look after former Barnado's boy James Henlan, who needs special care because of a series of terrible disabilities. They gave the city council two years' notice that they would need to find another loving home for James. But now, just five weeks before Ken and Lilian are due to move away to start a new life at a retirement villa in Spain, they still haven't got a clue where James will be going. The couple were originally meant to provide a safe house for James for just three weeks in 1993. But ten years later, his smile has become the focus of family life at their home in Rectory Park Road, Sheldon. But the state of their health means they can no longer look after the 22-year-old and taking him to Spain is not an option because they would not get the same care facilities. Now they are desperate to know where James will go before they leave the city. Retired nurse Lilian, aged 74, suffered a stroke last week - a blow her husband is convinced was due to the stress of finding a new home for their foster child. "When he came to us he was a difficult boy, but he called me 'Dada' from the first day he arrived," said retired prison worker Mr Hawkins, aged 75. "He was almost like a Dickens urchin, but since then he has become a lovely, happy little chap. "He has given us a huge lift over the last ten years since we started fostering with his smiling face beaming up at us every day." James is registered blind and deaf, and also suffers from Pollitt Syndrome, a rare genetic disease that causes severe physically disability and means he has only grown to the size of a seven-year-old. He attends Birmingham Focus, in Wood Lane, Harborne, four days a week for care, and needs one-on-one attention around the home. Now the Hawkins family, who have four children and 11 grandchildren of their own, are desperate to find a new base for the boy. "We informed social services two years ago that we would be moving away," added Mr Hawkins.
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"It is difficult to find homes for kids like James, but we are so terrified that we will have to leave and he will not have a home. "We have now been told it will be at least another two weeks before he is placed, which we think is absolutely disgusting." Birmingham Social Services admitted that the couple had given them two year's notice. A spokeswoman said: "We do appreciate this couple's concerns, but we assure them that we will find a suitable placement for this disabled young man. "We have already identified some possible options but we need to carry out a very thorough assessment of his needs first. "The assessment was not made when we were originally notified of the couple's intention to move just in case the complex needs changed." | 
