When they arrived back home in Milnsbridge, Huddersfield, they quietly slept in their identical cots as their sister Georgia, seven, and brother, Lewis, three, looked on.

The sisters will have to get used to their new-found celebrity – as it is extremely rare to give birth to naturally-conceived identical triplets.

Miss Chambers, 28, said: "We really cannot tell them apart at all. They have still got their name tags on from the hospital which we will probably leave on for the next few days."

The triplets were born prematurely at 34 weeks by pre-arranged Caesarean section at Leeds General Infirmary on April 15. Scarlett, who was born first, weighed 4lb 7oz, Lilly was next and weighed 3lb 9oz and Evie was the last to be born, weighing 4lb.

They have been cared for on the special care baby unit, but did not need to be in incubators, impressing nursing staff with their progress.

Giving birth to identical triplets is an event that only happens in about one in every 150,000 pregnancies. They are created when either a single fertilised egg divides into three, or when one embryo splits into two to form identical twin embryos, and then one of these divides again.

Miss Chambers said: "We were a bit shocked at first when we found out we were having triplets but we are really happy.

"It's still like looking from the outside in at the moment, it's not like it's real.

"We were walking out of the hospital with all three carry cots and everybody was stopping and saying 'there's three babies there'."

Miss Chambers and Mr Collins, 31, a plasterer, say they will have to get used to all the attention their three new arrivals are going to get.

Mr Collins jokes that he and his son are going to have to cope with living in a house full of females. But as he glances adoringly at his children, it's obvious he's already smitten.