Today marks a significant day in the life of Jasmine Robinson, who will celebrate her birthday on the day she was born for only the second time.

Despite the fact she will be eight, she came into the world on February 29, and is therefore a “leapling”.

Jasmine has had just one celebration on her actual birthday, four years ago in 2012, so today will be extra special.

She is one of a number of Kent residents sharing the special day.

Mum Tracey, of Chatsworth Drive, Sittingbourne, said: “She’s excited because she realises how special it is when it does come around.

“We try to make her feel really special for having the rare birthday and make it an extra special celebration, but she has sometimes got upset in non leap years when people tell her she won’t have a proper birthday that year, although of course we celebrate every year regardless.

“I get really excited for her in the years that her special day will actually exist.”

Tracey, who is married to Clive, 54, and has a son, Zak, 11, said she was aware there was a chance she would be having a leap year baby when she was admitted to Maidstone Hospital eight years ago.

Both her children had the same due date, March 10.

She said: “With Jasmine, I had problems with pregnancy with diabetes and I had to go into hospital earlier. I had been waiting on the ward for her to be induced since the Monday. The 29th was the Friday. On the day, I wasn’t so conscious of it because I was so fed up with waiting.”

Jasmine will spend her birthday at school at Grove Park, where she is in Year 3.

When Jackie Archer celebrates her 15th birthday today, she will look back on a surprisingly full life for one of such apparent tender years.

Despite being three years short of the legal drinking age, the grandmother ran a village pub for 10 years and works behind the bar at Canterbury Rugby Club.

But what makes this ‘teenager’ special is that she is one of a rare group of people born in a leap year, who celebrate their birthdays on February 29. So while friends will send her joke happy 15th birthday cards, she will actually be marking her 60th.

Jackie, who lives in Barham, is the former landlady of the Mermaid Inn at Bishopsbourne and was Brown Owl of Barham Brownies for 20 years.

She said: “It’s been fun being born on February 29 – people find it quite amusing and it’s nice to be a bit different.

“I usually celebrate on the 28th, even though I had one aunt who insisted sending me a card just once every four years.

“I am the youngest and only girl of six children, so I was always made a bit more of a fuss of when I was growing up.

“My husband Steve gets a bit of stick about being married to a teenager, but there are practical difficulties – like when you fill in a form online and it doesn’t give the option to select February 29 for my birthday.”

For Nicola-Marie Saker this year’s celebration will be extra special.

The Parkwood Junior School pupil will turn eight on Monday, February 29, but as she was born in a Leap Year, she has only been able to celebrate her actual birthday once before.

To mark the occasion she is having a horse-themed party with her friends and family on Saturday, complete with a horse pinata and party games.

On Monday, her parents, Emily and Jack, are planning to take her out for dinner.

Nicola-Marie was born two weeks early, much to her parents’ surprise.

Mrs Saker, 26, said: “I didn’t expect my pregnancy to go full term, but I wasn’t expecting to give birth on February 29 A lot of people and family members said I would, but it was quite a surprise.” She thinks Nicola-Marie will be more excited for her birthday this year: “She has an official birthday once every four years, it’s quite a special thing for her.

“I think she will feel more excited than she has previously, because she’s able to actually celebrate on her birthday, especially with her friends at school that day.”

Usually the family, of Findlay Close, Gillingham, celebrate the milestone on March 1, as a whole year has passed.

Nicola-Marie said: “I’m really excited. It’s only the second time I’ve had my proper birthday but some people in my class keep saying that I’m still two!”

Mrs Saker said: “On behalf of the whole family I’d like to wish Nicola-Marie a very happy second and eighth birthday.”

A leap year, where an extra day is added to the end of February, occurs every four years to bring the Gregorian calendar in line with the solar system.

It takes exactly 365.2422 days for the Earth to orbit the sun, but as the Gregorian calender uses 365 days, an extra day is added to keep clocks and calendars in sync with the Earth.