IT is hard to imagine the pain and suffering Sharon Oldacre has been through.

Her life was turned upside down when her son Jamie was murdered by his own father at just seven months old, and it has taken all Sharon's spirit to get it back on track again.

Now Paul, who killed Jamie by punching him in the chest and stomach because he would not stop crying, is threatening to destroy all that Sharon has achieved by demanding the right to contact their four-year-old daughter Savannah while he serves his sentence, and to visit her on his release.

Mrs Oldacre is justifiably worried. After all, why should she trust a man convicted of killing his own child, and who has a mental age of eight?

After all, surely he lost all rights to see his daughter when he was convicted of murder.

It is a sorry state of affairs.

But reaching its decision, the court must decide what is best for Savannah and her mother Sharon, rather than appease the man who has committed a crime of an appalling nature.