A separated lesbian couple in Canada have been ordered by a court to share leftover sperm.

Despite dividing their assets when they split in 2006, the British Columbia couple forgot about the 13 vials, known as straws, of semen which they had frozen in a sperm bank.

However, in 2009 one of the women, identified in court by the initials JCM, wanted to use the sperm to have a baby with her new partner, the Vancouver Sun reported.