TWIN sisters born on separate sides of the English and Welsh border are challenging a claim made in the latest release of the Guinness World Records.

Heidi Gannon and Jo Baines, of Welshpool, were both born on September 23, 1976, Heidi in Welshpool Hospital at 9am, and following her mother Carol Munroe being transferred to the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital, Jo was born at 10.45am.

Heidi received a great shock when purchasing the book for her son recently, to discover the records showing that the first set of twins to be born in different countries were named as Dylan and Hannah Fox, born in England and Scotland in 2012.

In 1976, following the arrival of Heidi, her parents, Carol and Graham were unaware that a second baby was on the way.

She said: “When I was born in Welshpool, the umbilical cord was cut and my mother was then shocked to discover she was having twins.

“She was rushed to Shrewsbury, and gave birth to Jo so it was quite a shock.

“I was also quite shocked by the record in the book, because we had both been born in separate countries years before 2012.”

Heidi recalled how her mother has told the story many times over the years, after it hit the regional and national newspapers nearly 40 years ago.

Pictures were taken of the two sisters at the age of 10, on the Shropshire/Powys border highlighting the story, with the tale being well known in the local area.

Since discovering the entry in the book, the sisters have attempted to contact the organisation to highlight and challenge the information printed.

However Heidi added that they may still not be the first twins to be born in separate countries.

She added: “Jo has sent an email to the Guinness World Records to clarify the claim, but we may not be the first twins to be born this way.

“It may be that people were before us, but we want to highlight the problem with the information in the book.

“The family have been trying to dig out old newspaper cuttings from when the story first emerged, and we are now awaiting a response from Guinness World Records.”

The County Times has contacted the Guinness World Records team who confirmed they are investigating the sisters’ challenge.