Foster parents Jeffrey and Jenny Bramley, who were at the centre of a widespread hunt when they disappeared with two little girls, are to be charged with abduction, police said last night.
The charges relate to a period last year during which the couple went into hiding with the two children.
A statement from Cambridgeshire Police said: "A married couple, aged 35, are to be charged with child abduction. The charges arise from an incident last September in the county."
The couple would appear in court on a date yet to be fixed, the statement said.
Mr and Mrs Bramley reappeared in January after they and the two children disappeared last September, just hours before they were due to hand the youngsters - who are half-sisters - back to social workers. The couple, who wish to adopt the children, said after re-emerging that they had been living in "good-quality accommodation" in a caravan on the west coast of Ireland.