A woman can get rid of her child's middle name because of its "association with a notorious public figure", a judge has ruled.

The mother argued the name, which cannot be known for legal reasons, was "infected with bad connotations".

The father objected to the change as he preferred the middle name, but a family court ruled it could be dropped.

At a previous hearing, a judge said continued use of the name "would damage the child's emotional welfare".

The child's father had appealed against a decision from a less senior judge, but Judge Mark Rogers dismissed this.

In a family court in Lincoln, the judge said the name was "not eccentric or in itself offensive".

But he ruled the "association" was enough to allow the mother to drop the middle name.

Judge Rogers added: "The child is most commonly known by the first name but the father uses both and says he favours the middle name."

The judge did not reveal the child's name or sex or the parents' identities in his ruling.