A 12-year-old boy has spoken of his gratitude to his two fathers who adopted him after he was rescued from his neglectful home.

Thomas*, from Colchester, Essex, was removed from his home by police when he was just a toddler after they received reports that he was being left alone.

Essex police discovered Thomas locked in an upstairs room of his home in 'very poor' conditions and he was put into foster care.

Thomas* was adopted by Steve* and Paul* after he was rescued from his biological parents who had locked him in an upstairs room as a toddler

Eventually Thomas was adopted by Steve* and Paul* and the 12-year-old says that he now has the 'perfect' family.

Speaking to East Anglian Daily Times, Thomas said: 'I was a bit nervous at first and sad to be leaving my foster family, but I was fine after that and thought my dads were awesome.

'They couldn't be better parents and everything works perfectly.'

The child went on to encourage potential adoptive parents in the lead up to LGBT Adoption and Fostering week saying it makes a 'huge difference'.

Thomas's fathers admit that they were initially concerned that having homosexual parents might expose their son to bullying, but were pleasantly surprised by the positive experience.

Now 12, Thomas has described his situation as 'perfect' and is encouraging others to adopt

They added: 'Adoption is a wonderful journey and needs to be shared by so many more people.'

Last year it was revealed that gay adoption was at an all-time high with one in seven couples approved by social workers being the same sex.

Gay adoption has steadily risen since Labour’s 2002 Adoption Act made it for possible gay people to adopt as a couple for the first time. Numbers have increased further since same-sex marriage was introduced three years ago.

LGBT Adoption & Fostering Week is run by New Family Social, the UK support group for LGBT adopters and foster carers.

Each spring, agencies across the UK hold events specifically for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender prospective parents. For more information click here.

*Names have been changed.