Couple lose fight to keep child

A Sussex couple whose daughter was taken into care have lost their bid to stop her being adopted.

Judges were told chaotic and unsanitary conditions at the pair's Hailsham home in 2007 were not typical and the man, 32, and woman, 43, were good parents.

The Appeal Court agreed with a finding that the girl was at risk of psychological harm.

The couple were denied leave to appeal against adoption orders granted to East Sussex County Council.

The court heard that the case had involved 73 hearings.

'Happy at home'

Alison Ball QC, representing the mother, said that during one confrontation at the family home in April 2007, the girl saw her father handcuffed by police.

The girl, then aged five, was removed from her home within hours of the incident.

She has been in foster care ever since, the court heard.

But Miss Ball said the daughter, now seven, had been happy at home and the parents were not given a chance to disprove a finding that they put their own interests before the welfare of their child.

Miss Ball said the mother was now willing to undergo psychological assessment of her abilities as a parent.

She urged Lord Justice Thorpe, Lord Justice Longmore and Mr Justice Bodey to cancel the adoption placement and make a further interim care order pending assessment of the parents.

But Mr Justice Bodey said "sadly for the parents", there were no grounds for challenging a finding by the Brighton County Court judge, who granted the adoption orders, that the girl was at risk of psychological harm.