A grandmother who gave birth to triplets aged 55 has hit back at critics who have called her "selfish".
Sharon Cutts and her 40-year-old boyfriend Stuart Reynolds welcomed sons Mason and Ryan and daughter Lily via IVF in March.
She had to go to Cyprus for the £22,000 treatment because the upper age limit for IVF in the UK is 42.
When she returned to England, Cutts spent nearly three months in hospital after losing blood at 23 weeks pregnant.
People criticised her for being "selfish" and "costing the NHS money", according to The Mirror.
"These people should mind their own business," Cutts told The Sun.
"The consultant said my hospital stay was money well spent. If I had been sent home there would have been bigger, costlier problems," Cutts explained.
“I could have had a bleed at home and then it would have been over two hours in an ambulance – costing a fortune."
Cutts, who also has four older children - Charles, 21, Emma, 25, Sam, 23 and Amy, 19 - also denied claims one of her older sons had slammed her decision to go through with IVF, saying "she's too old".
Her triplets were born on 21 March by caesarean section, after an 11-week stay in Nottingham University Hospital.
They each weighed between 4lbs and 5lbs.
Speaking of the moment she found out she was having twins, Cutts said, according to PA: "At the scan we were told there were three heartbeats. Stuart was shocked and I was in tears, crying with joy.
"The first thing I thought was: ‘Oh my God, how am I going to cope?’"
Reynolds added: "I was excited, and then bricking it. Now they’re here I wouldn’t change it for the world."