KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 7 ― A British couple, who fostered over 600 children in 56 years, have retired as carers.

Pauline and Roger Fitter, from Camelsdale, West Sussex, said they would cherish memories of watching vulnerable children flourish at their home, BBC reported.

One of the most memorable foster for Pauline, 81, was a three-year-old girl who was unwilling to make eye contact or be touched when she arrived.

“It was a long process with her and then one day she just put her very tiny little hand inside mine,” she said.

“She must be in her 30s, but that has stayed with me because she was such a damaged little girl. It sounds like a small thing, but actually it's not, it's huge,” she reportedly said.

Besides fostering, the couple raised five children of their own ― including an adopted child who they had previously fostered ― and now have 11 grandchildren.

Pauline described their home life had been at times “quite chaotic,” but the house was “still standing”.

Roger, 86, said: “I don't think at any point we thought enough is enough. We could see the results of our efforts and it was very rewarding.”

The couple's fostering journey began in 1965 after Pauline, a nurse, worked in a residential nursery with young children and babies awaiting adoption.

“It really hurt me to see these babies becoming institutionalised and I promised myself at the age of 19 that when I married I would foster,” she said.

Three months after their marriage in September 1965, the couple welcomed their first foster child ― a newborn baby boy who had bronchitis.

Over the years, the couple specialised in taking children whose futures depended on the outcome of a forthcoming court case.

Pauline said the children are usually traumatised, very sad and don't want to be taken from home.

“It's quite emotional work, but we've always worked on the understanding that the children have been through a lot, we are grown up, we can manage it too.”

Roger said fostering had “fitted in very well with our lifestyle,” adding his role had been basically to do the driving, mend things and, most importantly, he was there to be shouted at if Pauline had a bad day.

West Sussex County Council's Jacquie Russell praised the Fitters' “extraordinary” commitment, and said there is still a “huge” need for more foster carers.