'Father' ordered to pay £100k for children he never knew he had after ex-wife tricked IVF clinic into using his frozen sperm



Loving father: But he had not given his ex-wife permission to use his frozen sperm

A man who had his sperm frozen in case he became infertile was astonished to learn that his ex-wife had tricked an IVF clinic into twice making her pregnant.

He then had to pay £100,000 towards the upbringing of the son and daughter he had known nothing about.

The father, a 57-year-old retired haulier, is now demanding a change in the law to ensure no other parents go through his torment.

The astonishing story begins in 1999 when the man was about to have drug treatment for crippling arthritis.



He stored sperm at the Bourn Hall Clinic in Cambridge to ensure that he and his wife, who married in 1979, could have a child if the treatment left him infertile.



In June 2000 the couple decided to divorce and weeks later she visited the clinic and forged his signature, allowing doctors to create embryos from his frozen sperm and her egg.

She gave birth to a girl in June 2001, claiming it was the result of a one-night stand, and a boy in September 2003.

When the boy needed hospital treatment for a hole in the heart, his mother’s sister phoned the haulier to reveal that both children were his.

The man, who had remarried in 2002, then had to tell his new wife that he already had a family.

Shock: The man only found out about his children when his ex-wife's sister phoned to tell him his son was critically ill in hospital.

‘The girl had been in my house when her mother visited my dad, who was dying,’ said the haulier, who cannot be named for legal reasons. ‘I didn’t even know she was mine. My dad died not knowing he had a granddaughter.

‘When the girl got older my ex-wife texted me saying she wanted to see her father. The children asked their mum where they came from and she told them, “The freezer”.’ In 2007 the ex-wife demanded he pay an extra £100,000 after she fell into debt.

A judge ruled that a settlement he made after the divorce, in which the woman kept the family home, was unfair because it did not take the two children into account and the man was forced to pay out the cash. He says he has also spent almost £200,000 in legal fees over the years.

The man now has two daughters aged eight and seven with his second wife. He sees his other two children for two days every fortnight.

‘My new wife has been amazing about it all,’ he said. ‘She speaks to my ex-wife to do the best for the children but it has put a strain on our relationship.

‘I love the children and spend money on taking them out and buying them clothes, but it is an expense I shouldn’t really have. The cost of this has been huge.’