A SPATE of childbirth, which saw five York work colleagues become mothers in two years, is being used to publicise a play about parenthood.

The five women worked in the marketing department of the Grand Opera House - which has a staff of only eight. They discovered their pregnancies within 24 months of each other.

They lined up with their children to publicise the theatre's production Mum's The Word.

Theatre spokeswoman Celestine Dubruel, whose two-year-old daughter, Antoinette was one of the first of the five offspring, said: "They do say women who work in the same environment for a length of time start having things happen to them at the same time."

Mum's The Word runs from November 4 to November 9.

Updated: 12:05 Wednesday, October 30, 2002