A TELEVISION programme is set to show a year in the life of a Worcester couple whose world was turned upside down by their violent adopted sons.

Dr Andrew Hale and his wife Helen let cameras into their home to show other people who are thinking of adoption what pitfalls they could encounter.

The couple's adopted sons, Andrew, aged 23, and Jason, aged 19, have both served prison terms. Jason was released last week, but his older brother is still inside.

The One Life episode Adoption Hell, at 10.35pm on BBC1 tomorrow, will show how Dr and Mrs Hale, from The Hill Avenue, Battenhall, cope with the problems involved in adopting children from disturbed backgrounds.

It is likely to pull at the heart-strings.

"At the end of the programme, this tough 23-year-old (Andrew) cries because he reads a letter from his natural mother who he thought didn't want him," said Dr Hale.

"We were worried about letting the cameras in but it's actually brought us closer together. We have a better relationship than ever."

The documentary-makers whittled down 60 hours of footage into a 45-minute package, which, says Dr Hale, he is satisfied with.

The brothers were adopted when they were aged two and five after being born to a father they never knew and an alcoholic mother who was jailed for theft and fraud.

When they became teenagers, the brothers turned to crime and Andrew caused £3,000 worth of damage to his adoptive parents' Battenhall home.

Dr Hale has done his own research and has come across the phrase 'attachment disorder' to describe the fact that the boys find it hard to feel loved by their parents.

Dr Hale says Worcester Social Services should have warned the couple about the boys' disturbed background and, as he puts it, the 'nuclear bomb waiting to explode'.

The couple has decided against suing social services because of the cost but are pinning their hopes on the results of an ombudsman's inquiry.

"I'm hoping we can make them productive members of society before it's too late," said Dr Hale.