By . Oliver Pickup . Last updated at 2:15 PM on 1st November 2011 . Two Russian families who were awarded $100,000 after their daughters were accidentally switched at birth have pledged to spend the payouts on new homes so the girls can grow up next door to each other. The 12-year-olds from Chelyabinsk, Russia, have become friends since their mix-up was discovered but will not switch to their biological families. Judges ordered the maternity home where the error took place a dozen years ago should pay out the money to the shattered families. Special bond: 12-year-olds Anya Belyayeva, left, and Irina Iskanderova have become friends after it was revealed they were mixed up at birth . The two girls were born 15 minutes apart . on the same day and the medical centre, located in the Ural Mountains, . admitted that they had mixed up the identity labels of the pair of . babies. The mistake was only discovered earlier this year when one couple, the Belyayevs, were going through divorce proceedings. Yuliya Belyaeva's former husband, had refused to support their daughter, Irina, because . she didn't look like him. The subsequent DNA test revealed that neither parent could have been the biological parents of the girl. 'The results were a total surprise,' Mrs Belyaeva told the BBC. 'Not only does my ex-husband have no biological link to Irina, neither do I.' After contacting the police, the Belyayevs were able to track the Iskanderovs and their daughter, Anya. There was a reconciliation with both families, in the city of Kopeisk in the Ural Mountains and heir situation has caused a media storm in Russia. The two girls have become close after meeting and Irina said: 'We were a bit shy at first but we're now the best of friends.' From right: Iskanderova, her father, Nimatullo, Irina and her mother Yulia Belyayeva. Chelyabinsk's Kopeisky city court ordered a maternity hospital to pay 3 million rubles after the girls were mixed up mixed up 12 years ago . Now that the maternal home has agreed to pay out both families have said that the girls will not return to their original families. However the families are thinking about spending the compensation to get houses close to each other. 'I would like us to share a house so . that we don't worry about her daughter coming to me and the other way . round,' Irina's biological father, Naimat Iskanderov said. However, there are complications, as he explains: 'One family is Christian, the other is Muslim. 'What I fear most is that the daughter I've raised will start going drinking in bars, that she will stop praying and working.' Lawyer Natalia Shtreker - representing both families - said: 'We are satisfied with the result and with the amount of compensation. We believe that it is fair.' The parents laughed in joy and embraced each other in the footage from the courtroom after the judge delivered the verdict. The compensation is huge by Russian standards, where an average monthly wage currently stands at the equivalent of some £300. However, despite winning the court battle, Mrs Belyayeva continues to feel bitter. 'All the money in the world isn't worth a child's look at mother,' she said. 'I wish they could put our lives in place. 'I tried to show Anya motherly love, but she doesn't accept it. 'When your own daughter looks at you like a stranger, that's so painful.'
The mix-up only came to light when one couple took a DNA test while going through a divorce .
Girls will NOT switch back to biological families .
Amount of compensation is huge for Russia where average monthly wages is £300 .
By . Oliver Pickup . Last updated at 2:15 PM on 1st November 2011 . Two Russian families who were awarded $100,000 after their daughters were accidentally switched at birth have pledged to spend the payouts on new homes so the girls can grow up next door to each other. The 12-year-olds from Chelyabinsk, Russia, have become friends since their mix-up was discovered but will not switch to their biological families. Judges ordered the maternity home where the error took place a dozen years ago should pay out the money to the shattered families. Special bond: 12-year-olds Anya Belyayeva, left, and Irina Iskanderova have become friends after it was revealed they were mixed up at birth . The two girls were born 15 minutes apart . on the same day and the medical centre, located in the Ural Mountains, . admitted that they had mixed up the identity labels of the pair of . babies. The mistake was only discovered earlier this year when one couple, the Belyayevs, were going through divorce proceedings. Yuliya Belyaeva's former husband, had refused to support their daughter, Irina, because . she didn't look like him. The subsequent DNA test revealed that neither parent could have been the biological parents of the girl. 'The results were a total surprise,' Mrs Belyaeva told the BBC. 'Not only does my ex-husband have no biological link to Irina, neither do I.' After contacting the police, the Belyayevs were able to track the Iskanderovs and their daughter, Anya. There was a reconciliation with both families, in the city of Kopeisk in the Ural Mountains and heir situation has caused a media storm in Russia. The two girls have become close after meeting and Irina said: 'We were a bit shy at first but we're now the best of friends.' From right: Iskanderova, her father, Nimatullo, Irina and her mother Yulia Belyayeva. Chelyabinsk's Kopeisky city court ordered a maternity hospital to pay 3 million rubles after the girls were mixed up mixed up 12 years ago . Now that the maternal home has agreed to pay out both families have said that the girls will not return to their original families. However the families are thinking about spending the compensation to get houses close to each other. 'I would like us to share a house so . that we don't worry about her daughter coming to me and the other way . round,' Irina's biological father, Naimat Iskanderov said. However, there are complications, as he explains: 'One family is Christian, the other is Muslim. 'What I fear most is that the daughter I've raised will start going drinking in bars, that she will stop praying and working.' Lawyer Natalia Shtreker - representing both families - said: 'We are satisfied with the result and with the amount of compensation. We believe that it is fair.' The parents laughed in joy and embraced each other in the footage from the courtroom after the judge delivered the verdict. The compensation is huge by Russian standards, where an average monthly wage currently stands at the equivalent of some £300. However, despite winning the court battle, Mrs Belyayeva continues to feel bitter. 'All the money in the world isn't worth a child's look at mother,' she said. 'I wish they could put our lives in place. 'I tried to show Anya motherly love, but she doesn't accept it. 'When your own daughter looks at you like a stranger, that's so painful.'
switch to their biological families. Judges when one couple, the Belyayevs, were going through divorce proceedings. Yuliya Belyaeva's him. The subsequent DNA test revealed that verdict. The compensation is huge by Russian standards, where an average monthly wage