Mandy Lees and twin daughters Beccy and Sam, 17, play football for Kinmel Bay Girls' team in Conwy and they've all just qualified as referees in the North Wales Girls' League.

There are only a dozen women referees in Wales, and 1,000 across the UK.

Mandy, 37, a mother of five from Prestatyn, said: "I think it's brilliant and I'm really proud of my girls. It's hard to referee your own daughters' match and you can be harder on them," she said. "The only girl to refute one of my decisions was my own daughter, Beccy.

"Some of the male referees are a bit too lenient on the girls or they've got a point to prove and I think women communicate better with women than men do."

But Sam, a student at Coleg Llandrillo Cymru, said a male or female referee did not make any difference to a game.

Sam said: "It's not very hard to referee, only when the kids have a go at you."

Beccy said: "I'd like a career in football, all my family are football fans".

The Football Association said women could officiate at the same level as men, such as Amy Rayner, who is a referee in the Nationwide Conference and an assistant in the Football League.

Wendy Toms was the first woman to be an official at league level in 1991 and was a lineswoman in the Premiership in 1997. She now officiates in the Football League.