A desperate father has told of how he resorted to hiring a special forces soldier to help him retrieve his daughter when the girl was snatched by his ex-wife and taken to Poland.

Craig Michael, 35, said he spent months planning the operation after being forced to take drastic action when his pleas for help from the authorities fell on deaf ears.

His ex-wife, Marta Swinarska, had taken the couple's five-year-old daughter Crystal from their home in Cyprus and fled to her native Poland - later ignoring two court orders to return her.

Desperate: Craig Michael, 35, has told of how he resorted to hiring a special forces soldier to help him retrieve his five-year-old daughter Crystal (pictured) when the girl was snatched by his ex-wife and taken to Poland

He spoke of the dramatic moment the pair found Crystal and reunited her with her older sister Castalia, six

According to the Daily Mirror, Mr Michael spent two-and-a-half years and £35,000 trying to get his daughter back but to no avail.

As a last resort he hired a child recovery expert and spoke of the dramatic moment the pair found Crystal and reunited her with her older sister Castalia, six.

Mr Michael picked his youngest daughter up and whisked her away in a waiting car while his soldier accomplice used pepper spray to ward off the little girl's grandfather.

The trio then drove across the border to the Czech Republic and on to Austria before flying home.

Though his dramatic rescue may have looked like an abduction to onlookers, Mr Michael insisted that everything he did was legal because he had a court order.

The father-of-two, who is originally from north London but emigrated to Cyprus in 2005, told the Daily Mirror: 'It's extreme but the court and the Hague Convention had let me down.'

Mr Michael's ordeal began in October 2011 when Ms Swinarska told him she had to return to Poland because her grandfather had died.

Meticulous operation: Mr Michael turned to Adam Whittington (right), the founder of Child Abduction Recovery International, to help get his daughter back. They are pictured together in southern Poland before the operation

Reunited: Mr Whittington (left) is pictured with Mr Michael and Crystal following the pair's recovery mission

The trio found Crystal then drove across the border to the Czech Republic and on to Austria before flying home

'THE CHILD RECOVERY EXPERTS' Child rescuer: CARI founder Adam Whittington Adam Whittington, the founder and chief executive of Child Abduction Recovery International, has over 20 years experience working high profile missing person cases worldwide. He was the lead investigator of an abducted and murdered British girl in Japan - one of the most high-profile abduction cases in Japanese history. Mr Whittington's investigations helped identify a suspect who was subsequently sentenced to life in prison for eight rapes and murders of foreign women. Operatives from Child Abduction Recovery International have recovered children in Indonesia, Egypt, Libya, Lebanon, Philippines, Japan, Russia, Pakistan, India, Turkey, Syria and UAE, as well as many other European, South American and African countries. Source: Child Abduction Recovery International Advertisement

He said he would look after the children while she was away but that Ms Swinarska wanted to take them with her.

Not long after, his ex-wife disappeared with Crystal, sending Mr Michael into a panic and leading to both children being put on a stop list in an attempt to prevent Ms Swinarska from leaving the country with them.

Mr Michael claims she also tried to take Castalia a week later but the girl's school wouldn't allow it and contacted her father.

He then went through the Hague Convention in an attempt to secure Crystal's return and the case came to court in January 2012.

Ms Swinarska claimed she had taken her daughter because her partner misused drugs and alcohol and was both physically and mentally abusive to her and the children - allegations that Mr Michael vehemently denies.

'It's absolute nonsense,' Mr Michael told the Daily Mirror. 'She made up all sorts of things to try to put me in a bad light but the judge could see through her lies.'

The judge found no evidence in her accusations and issued a court order stating that Crystal be returned to her father.

When Ms Swinarska failed to adhere to the ruling a second court order was issued eight months later for Crystal to be forcibly removed - only Polish authorities said they were unable to find her.

It was then that Mr Michael turned to Adam Whittington, the founder and chief executive of Child Abduction Recovery International.

The pair flew to Poland In January 2014 and managed to locate Crystal at her grandparent's home in Opole, southern Poland.

They spent 12 days waiting for the perfect opportunity to put their plan into action until finally that moment arose.

Jumping out from behind some bushes, Mr Michael grabbed his daughter and ran to a waiting car before making his escape.

In May this year Ms Swinarska pleaded guilty to child abduction and was given an 18-month suspended sentence.

She still maintains she took Crystal because her husband was 'aggressive' and is continuing to fight for custody.

Mr Michael's story will be featured in an ITV documentary called Abduction next week.

According to the programme, with Britons increasingly finding partners from abroad, every 12 hours a child is taken by a parent or family member.

And the number of children abducted by an estranged parent has doubled in the last decade.