Linda rescued pregnant Gambian orphan only for her husband to try to seduce her Linda Buchwald and her partner Peter Blackwell travelled to Gambia in 2005 They met dancer Evelyn the day before she was fired for being pregnant All tourists make promises but they were different, Evelyn said Flew her to Heddington, Oxfordshire, but Peter tried to run off with Evelyn Now Linda, Evelyn and the twins live happily in England By Kathryn Knight By late afternoon most weekdays, the living room of Linda Buchwald's comfortable Oxford home becomes a riot of noisy activity when her twin grandsons pay an after-school visit with their mother, Evelyn. It is the sort of chaotic happy family scene that many will recognise - although this is the most unusual of families, and one for which 65-year-old Linda has paid an unduly heavy price. Eight years ago she and husband Peter Blackwell rescued Evelyn, then 21, and her baby sons, Peter and Simon, from a life of grinding poverty in their native Gambia. Family: Peter Blackwell and Linda Buchwald were in the process of trying to adopt Evelyn Mendy and her twin sons, Peter and Simon, when they got married in 2005 (pictured) They had met the young mother while they holidayed in West Africa, and moved her into their family home in Britain after pledging to help her raise her boys. It was an act of apparently heart-warming selflessness, reported in the Daily Mail at the time. But within months of Evelyn's arrival in Britain, Peter, 67, had repeatedly tried to seduce his bewildered African "daughter," all the while playing the part of loving husband and doting grandfather. It was the ultimate betrayal and one which split this unorthodox family apart. Distraught, Evelyn fled back to Gambia, preferring life as an impoverished single mother to the trauma of Peter's unwanted advances. Meanwhile a humiliated and heartbroken Linda was left to contemplate the wreckage of her once-happy relationship. Under the circumstances, you might expect Linda would want nothing more to do with the young African woman who unwittingly brought with her such sorrow - but far from it. Cradling the boys, I fell in love with them and vowed we wouldn't abandon them. I wanted to take them home. Shattered by her husband's treachery, but determined some good might come from their time together, Linda persuaded her to return to the UK - finally achieving her wish in December 2007 when Evelyn and her sons got a five-year visa. But Linda wanted permanent security for the family unit to which she is as devoted as if they were her own flesh and blood, and now that dream has been fulfilled. Last month, Evelyn, now 29, and her sons were granted permanent UK residence, bringing to an end years of anxiety about the long-term future. Little wonder that both women now enjoy an unbreakable bond, one that is all too clear from just a few moments in their company. Life-changing: Peter and Linda overheard a hotel guest say a dancer had been fired because she was pregnant. They had spotted Evelyn and knew it was her. They rushed to comfort her Helping hand: Peter and Linda were the first people Evelyn told she was having twins, and flew to see them For Linda, Evelyn has clearly been the balm for her heartbreak - or as she puts it, though she's lost a husband, she has gained a daughter and two grandsons. "Despite everything I feel very lucky," she says. Evelyn and the boys are my pride and joy. Peter is the one who has lost so much. Evelyn adds: "I feel so blessed. I could never have imagined my life could turn out this way. Eight years ago, Linda, who runs a dog-grooming business, was anticipating a rather different kind of future: that of a contented but quiet middle-aged romance. A divorcee and mother of three grown-up children, Linda was 56 and had been divorced for eight years when she met Peter, then 59, through a dating website in early 2003. "I was looking for companionship rather than romance," she recalls. But we hit it off straight away. He was easy-going, generous and he made me laugh. Widower and father-of-four Peter, who ran a taxi firm, proved to be a determined suitor and, within weeks of meeting Linda, he had proposed. "He kept saying marriage would make him feel more secure, so we got engaged, and I felt lucky to have found love a second time," she says. The couple bought a small house together in Oxford from where, during a wet January in 2005, they booked a last-minute trip to Gambia. It was there they met Evelyn Mendy, a dancer at their hotel. Care: Linda and Peter instantly opened a bank account for Evelyn with £100. They bought her a phone and paid her medical fees. Evelyn said many tourists make these promises. But Linda and Peter were different "She was tall and one of the most stunning girls I have ever seen," Linda says. But it wasn't her beauty or her small pregnancy bump which struck me - it was her huge, sad eyes. She looked pitiful. The following day, when Linda overheard a guest saying a hotel dancer had been fired because she was pregnant, she realised it was the same girl and went over to speak to her. "I sat down and asked her to tell me her story," says Linda. And within minutes we were both in tears. Evelyn's mother had left home when she was five. Her cruel father had died when she was ten. She had lived rough and been sexually abused. At 14, she embarked on a relationship with an 18-year-old man and worked as a dancer, performing in shows to tourists at the hotel where Linda and Peter were staying. When Evelyn later discovered she was pregnant, her boyfriend left her. Linda and Peter vowed to help, opening a bank account for Evelyn with a £100 deposit and buying her a mobile phone so she could stay in touch. Nonetheless, Evelyn admits that she was sceptical. So many tourists make promises then disappear but they were different Evelyn "So many tourists make promises then disappear," she recalls. But Linda and Peter were different. "We couldn't sleep for worrying about what would happen to Evelyn and her baby after we'd flown home," Linda recalls. So they called her every day from the UK and paid her medical bills. It was Peter and Linda to whom Evelyn broke the news that she was expecting twin boys, and within two weeks of their birth in April 2005, the couple returned to the Gambia to help. "The moment I cradled the boys I fell in love with them and vowed we wouldn't abandon them," recalls Linda. I knew I wanted to bring them home. It may have been an ambitious endeavour, but to the altruistic Linda it seemed entirely natural. My children were supportive, and Peter never once tried to talk me out of it. He was such a generous man, I had no reason to doubt his motives. We'd all formed a close bond. Trouble: The couple from Heddington took the mother and twins in. But Evelyn was scared off by Peter So close that Evelyn named her twin sons Peter and Simon, after the new "father" who had saved her and Linda's youngest son, who accompanied Peter senior on a third trip to the Gambia in September to help arrange a temporary visa for Evelyn to come to the UK. In November 2005, Evelyn flew to the UK with her baby sons and moved into Peter and Linda's spare room. She remembers those first few weeks in her new home as a surreal but magical time, as does Linda. "Evelyn and the boys fitted into our world straight away," she says. I knew she would have to go back to the Gambia when her temporary visa ran out after six months, but we were all trying to make the most of it. It was chaotic, with toys and nappies everywhere, but I felt so happy. As, apparently, did Peter, who decided the time was right to organise his wedding to Linda, and they set a date for January 21, 2006. I was disgusted and embarrassed, and also upset for Linda. She had been so good to me, and didn't deserve this. But behind the fatherly veneer, Peter's attitude to Evelyn had started to change. "He kept trying to get me on my own and would try to kiss me, or put his hand on my leg," she recalls. Then he became more explicit. He said how much he wanted to "do it" with me, then said that we could run away and live on our own together. I told him I didn't see him that way, but he wouldn't stop. One can only imagine her bewilderment that a man old enough to be her grandfather should view her in this way. "I couldn't believe what was happening and I didn't know what to do," she says. I thought of this man as my dad, so I was disgusted and embarrassed, and also upset for Linda. I was also scared that she wouldn't believe me. I felt so vulnerable because I had my boys to think of, too. I didn't know who to turn to, but I just hoped that if I kept saying no, it would stop. Happy: Last month Evelyn and her boys, Peter and Simon, were granted permanent UK residence Linda remained oblivious to her fiance's treachery. Peter hadn't changed towards me - he was as affectionate as he'd always been and was keen to get on with the wedding. The register office ceremony went ahead, followed by a river-cruise reception, with Evelyn as guest of honour. She says: "I kept telling myself that now they were married, Peter would stop." But he didn't. Instead, he pursued Evelyn with renewed vigour. And when Linda and Peter went off on a short honeymoon to Bournemouth two weeks after the wedding, Linda was baffled by her new husband's behaviour. It was as if he'd changed overnight. He was moody, distant and off-hand and kept disappearing to make phone calls. I didn't understand what was going on," she says. The phone calls were to Evelyn. He said Linda had told him to call me to say she wanted a divorce, leaving him free to marry me, but he was lying. Linda knew nothing about it," says Evelyn. After getting his call, I burst into tears and told Linda's mother what had happened. She then told Linda, who became very angry. Realisation: When Linda and Peter flew to visit Evelyn back in Gambia again, she told Peter to pack his bags when they returned to Oxfordshire That's to put it mildly. Linda duly confronted Peter, asking him if something was going on with Evelyn. His response was blunt: "She's trying to come between us." "I wasn't convinced," says Linda. I accused him of lying again. I demanded to know if he had feelings for Evelyn, and when he said he didn't, I lost my temper. I know he told her he wanted to sleep with her because Evelyn isn't capable of telling untruths. She was vulnerable and totally out of her depth emotionally. He denied it outright, but Linda was so upset that she cut their honeymoon short and went home. There, Evelyn told Linda what had been happening. "I was unprepared for what Evelyn told me," she says. "She blurted out: "Peter wanted me for sex." "I asked why she hadn't told me earlier, and she said: "It was difficult because I love both of you so much." She was so upset that I believed her instantly. She said she didn't know how to tell me what had been going on, and I believed her - she wasn't capable of lying. My heart went out to her. It was devastating for Linda to have to face the truth that her new husband had abused his position of trust in the most awful of ways. "I was heartbroken," Linda says. I'd been in love and felt so lucky, but now I was hurt and humiliated. How could I not have known? But for Evelyn, uprooted from her home and living with a couple she had come to look upon as parents, the ordeal must have been worse. Little wonder, then, that the distressed and emotional Evelyn decided to go back to the Gambia, even though she still had two months left on her visa. She couldn't bear to be around Peter, and nothing I could say would talk her out of it. She said she didn't know how to tell me what went on. I believed her, she wasn't capable of lying. Linda knew her marriage was over, but it took a few more weeks for her to fully face the facts. I buried my head in the sand. It was just too much to understand. Peter and I even accompanied Evelyn back to Gambia. But when we were getting on the plane something just clicked. I made him sit separately from us and when we got home, I told Peter to pack his bags and leave. He did, and she hasn't seen him since. Instead, I focused on trying to get Evelyn and the boys back to Britain. I'd come close to losing them, and I didn't want it to happen again. For her part, Evelyn insists she never doubted Linda. What I felt was guilt that she had been through so much because of me. Part of me wondered if it was easier for her to forget me," she says. It took 18 months with Linda lobbying the Home Office tirelessly and offering to support Evelyn financially. In December 2007, Evelyn and her sons were granted a five-year UK visa and arrived in Oxford, just as they had two years earlier, in time for Christmas. "I was delighted to see them again," says Linda. Evelyn and the boys moved in with Linda, and Evelyn took whatever jobs she could find. I wanted to earn my own money, so I did whatever I had to, from cleaning jobs to catering jobs. Stable: The divorced mother-of-three who met Peter on a dating site is happier with her adopted grandsons Full-time grandmother: The boys and Linda's adoptive daughter Evelyn visit every day after school Evelyn worked so hard that in 2009 she was able to rent a flat of her own, close to Linda, and she also enrolled at college to fulfil her dream of working as an Army paramedic. Her twins were settling in well at school. But a shadow hung over them: with the clock ticking on Evelyn's visa, it was hard for her to settle. "We knew we had to get permanent residency so she and the boys could truly make a life here," says Linda. This was to prove a lengthy and disheartening process, involving mountains of paperwork. Despite everything I feel lucky. Undaunted, Linda wrote endless letters in support of Evelyn's application, and last month they received the good news that Evelyn and her sons had been granted permanent residency rights. Linda says: "When Evelyn phoned to tell me the news, I wanted to shout it from the rooftops. It was as though a weight had been lifted from my shoulders. The news brings to a close an emotional few years for both women, who admit they struggle to believe the turn of events that brought them together. "After growing up without a mum, I always held onto the hope that one day I would find a mother," Evelyn says. So this is like a dream come true. I'm so lucky. Linda regards herself as the lucky one, despite the heavy price she has paid. Apart from a few phone calls, she has had no contact with Peter since he left, and has no idea where he is now. I will never understand what was going on in Peter's head, but there's no fool like an old fool. All I know is that, today, I look at the boys and Evelyn, and think how much he is missing out on.