The High Court has refused an application for the extradition to the US of a Co Cork couple to face charges of kidnapping their grandson.

Tim and Ethel Blake, both 60 years old, from Lower Midleton Street, Cobh, are wanted in the US for the alleged aggravated kidnapping of their now 11-year-old grandson in July 2004.

Their grandson is now back living with his mother in Winthrop Harbour near Chicago in Illinois.

This morning Mr Justice Michael Peart refused an application for the couple's extradition, in what he described as a very unusual case.

He said he was rejecting all but one of the grounds put forward by the couple in opposition to their extradition - that of proportionality of the minimum sentence they would face if convicted of the crime in the US.

The Blakes showed little reaction when the judgement was given in court.

Afterwards, outside the court, their solicitor said on their behalf that they were relieved that it was over, and added that it had been a difficult time.

He said they were looking forward to getting back to Cobh and getting on with their lives. The couple also thanked all those who had helped and supported them.

Family dispute

The Blakes' grandson had lived with them at their home in Cobh until he was aged more than four.

In 1999 the Blakes travelled with their grandson to the US to see their daughter, who is the boy's mother.

Once there, however, his mother refused to let the boy go back to Ireland, and so he remained in the US.

The Blakes were concerned about the conditions in which their daughter was living at the time.

In 2001 they sought and were granted guardians of their grandson, who was made a ward of court by the Cork Circuit Court.

But they were subsequently unsuccessful in getting an order in the US courts allowing them to bring their grandson back to Ireland.

In July 2004 the Blakes travelled again to visit their grandson and daughter in Illinois.

When they returned they brought the boy back with them. They were subsequently accused of kidnapping and if they had been convicted in a US court faced a mandatory minimum sentence of six years, and a maximum sentence of 30 years.

Their grandson was subsequently sent back to his mother in the US in November of 2004.

During the extradition hearing earlier this month, the High Court was told by counsel for the State that the case was a 'very emotional' matter arising out of protracted family differences.

But the State argued the problems could not be taken into account in the extradition hearing, which was both 'legitimate and relevant'.

In response, counsel for the Blakes argued that neither the couple's grandson, nor his mother now wanted to see them extradited. The boy's mother had written to the US authorities pleading with them not to prosecute her parents, the court was told.

The couple's counsel also argued that extraditing them would be a breach of their constitutional rights.