JOHN, 42, separated from his former wife six years ago and has seen neither of his children since 2001. The IT consultant, who has remarried and lives in East Anglia, has a daughter, 15, and a son, 11.

He said that, after the breakdown of their relationship, his ex-wife moved house with their children without his knowledge.

“We’d been married for ten years and lived in Suffolk,” John said. “She moved to Essex to be near her family — it was hard because they were now living around 80 miles away.

“We’d agreed that I’d have the children every other weekend and one evening in the week, but she didn’t stick to it. The children would be late or not there; it was like she was trying to punish me.

“The situation deteriorated when she moved away. She would say that they were doing something else on weekends when I was supposed to see them. Then I got a letter saying that the children didn’t want to visit.

“We went to court and access was granted but soon after that she started disobeying the order. Sometimes she would say the children were unwell. Every time they came they had notes with them saying I’d given them the wrong food last time or that they hadn’t been comfortable.

“Contact eventually stopped altogether and I went back to court in 2000 to get it reinforced. They said my daughter, 11, was old enough to make her own decisions and I haven’t seen her since.

“I took my son on holiday in 2001 and saw him some weekends, but then I was told he didn’t want to visit any more.

“I went to court a couple of months ago and the judge said that my ex had broken three court orders, that my son should be known by my surname and that his school should be allowed to give me information.

“My parents haven’t seen them for years either and it’s very upsetting for them. I just hope my children will want to contact me when they grow up.”

Six hours in 2½ years

JASON, a 28-year-old decorator from Gloucestershire, was married for five years and has a son, 5, and daughter, 3.

“When we split she moved to her parents with the children,” he said. “I kept asking for access. She would say yes but then wouldn’t answer the door when I turned up. One time she called the police and accused me of harassment.

“Another time she let me see my son, I picked him up from her house and she then called the police and said I’d kidnapped him.

“In the 2½ years since we split, I’ve seen them for six hours at a contact centre.

“I went to court shortly after we separated to get access, but the process takes so long that my hearing isn’t until next week. It’s taken more than two years to get that far.

“I had a copy of a report, Making Access Work, from Margaret Hodge. I wrote back saying, ‘That’s fine if you’ve got contact but I haven’t’. ”

Explore UK News

• Crime News

• Education News

• Health News

• Scotland News

Times Recommends

• Fern Britton: 'I still can't see that I was wrong'
• Extreme cooking
• Easy French: Tarte Tatin