Britain's Best Foster Family

[angelophile]

BEEFY biker David Quick may look menacing but he's more angel than Hell's Angel ... and has just been voted Britain's best foster parent along with his wife Tracey.

Jobless biker David, 36, weighs 23 stone and has a pierced ear and a metal spike through his chin.

He also has 15 tattoos, beads in his beard and wears leather gear to ride his trike-bike with Tracey, 35. But the National Children's Home charity -which is trying to change public perception about fostering - say looks can be deceiving.

David and Tracey, who live in a council house in the Welsh valleys, scored top marks when the charity assessed them as foster parents.

They have already provided a needed home for five vulnerable children since becoming carers for their local authority four years ago. David, chairman of his local biker club, said: "Some people have narrow and out-dated ideas about who can be a foster carer.

"So what if I'm a biker and I look the way I do? It's the ability to understand and respond to the needs of kids that counts."

The couple, from Pontypridd, registered with NCH's fostering project last year and have taken in four children. Their latest is an autistic boy, aged three. They have two sons of their own, Ieuan, 11, and Dafydd, three.

Non-smoker David, who is teetotal and a qualified florist, lives on disability benefit ' after a leg injury cost him his taxi driver job.

David said: "We treat all the children the same and our sons are really open to kids with problems. There are challenges but fostering is so rewarding."

Derek Clode, a senior practitioner with NCH, explained: "David and Tracey came across as very understanding of what kids with difficulties need to be able to live with a family.

"They are very community-orientated, have a good sense of humour and are very patient."