I have 2 fab kids who are now 9 & 10, but when they were only 14mths and 2yrs old respectivly there father walked out after 2 years of wasting all our money on drink and his mates and leaving me on my own for days at a time with the babies while he was out doing exactly what he wanted with whom ever he wanted to do it with, I used to have to take my kids with me to clean peoples homes to make enough money to buy food, milk and nappies. so when he finally went (he wouldnt go when I asked him too) and moved straight in with another woman it was like the world was lifted from my sholders. for the first 6-7 months we saw him on a regular basis, he would pop in a couple of days a week and spend some time with the children and I would go round to a friends so they could have some time alone, this was until his new partner (or so im told) decided she didnt like him spending time in my home (although I wasnt there at the time)so the visits dropped to once a fortnight and then to once a month when he would take them out for a couple of hours, visits then became sporadic, not turning up on agreed days, ignoring phone calls and the final straw came when walking down the street one day my daughter spotted him on the opposite path of a quiet road and called "DADDY!!!" and he looked over and ignoring her he carried on walking, that same day I began looking into moving to another town, only about 20 miles up the road far enough to avoid that happening again but not to far from my family, 2 months later we moved. about 8 months later I received a call from my ex saying that he was near to my new home and would desperatly like to see the children, after alot of umming and ahhing I agreed to meet up for an hour,after almost a year, the kids were excited to see him but also quite shy , we organised a 2nd meet, which he kept, and took things from there until when the kids were 4 & 5 I met my lovely new partner, after we had been together 11 months, my ex dropped my kids home one sunday in Feb 2005 kissed them goodbye as normal and organised the next visit for a fortnights time but wasnt at the meeting place when we arrived, we called to see if there was a problem, no reply, went to his home a few days later to see if they were okay, no answer, and he has never contacted them again since, I know he is alive and well as he lives in the same small town as my family, he now goes around telling anyone who asks after the children that I stopped him seeing them, my little ones were upset for a long time after and I made excuses for him like ' daddy is busy' or 'he has to work' but when your 6 yr old son comes to you and says 'my dad doesnt love me' how can you justify his actions? it has been almost 4 yrs now and although I hear about him through other people he has never attempted to contact us again, my kids have a lovely father figure in my partner, he has been there consistantly for us for almost 5 years now, and although they occasionally mention their 'first' dad (usually round xmas) my kids are healthy well ajusted people, I think that if he ever attempted to come back into their lives now, I would have to refuse him access, I would fight him all the way, they do not deserve anymore heartache or disappointment in their little lives, he had 2 wonderful little children and I hope one day he realizes what he gave up, if one day when they are older they decide they would like to see him then I would support their decision and be there for them either way, but unless that day comes, I would happily never set eyes on him again.