A heartbroken Chelmsford family, torn apart when their son was taken into foster care, are the latest parents to claim they have been targeted because the mother has learning difficulties.

For two years the 10-year-old and his parents, who cannot be named for legal reasons, only see each other for four hours a fortnight.

They have spoken out against policies of Essex Social Services, joining other mothers and fathers distressed by decisions to place their youngsters in care.

It is understood that some are members of a pressure group, PAIN (Parents Against INjustice), set up to campaign on behalf of those parents who believe they have been wrongly accused of child abuse of any kind, with Essex one of many local authorities targeted.

The Chelmsford parents contacted the Chronicle following reports about a Brentwood couple who claim they have also lost their youngsters to care because of learning difficulties.

The Chelmsford couple revealed how, despite having two other thriving children aged two and four, Essex County Council decided they were not fit to care for their eldest son, and ordered he be taken into care.

Speaking from their housing association home, which is filled with toys and photos of his sons, the boy's father tearfully spoke of his sense of injustice about the court ruling, for which they received just three days' notice to prepare.

He said: "When he was born we noticed he had constipation problems so we got the doctors involved.

"He was in nappies until he was five or six and eventually we were referred to a specialist in London who said he had a twisted bowel. He said he had seen lots of people in the same situation and he would end up growing out of it.

"Because my wife has learning difficulties we have always been under the spotlight."

The couple were told on a Tuesday in July 2003 they were due in court the following Friday. Their legal aid solicitor advised them to accept social services' decision, and the hearing ruled the couple were guilty of unintentional neglect. The interim care order was confirmed at a full hearing in April last year.

Pacing his living room the father, who holds a full-time job, said the couple had been steamrollered because his wife cannot read or write.

The mother said: "I had a special bond with my son and they have broken it. It nearly split me and my husband up."

The couple are currently paying a solicitor to fight their case but are struggling to afford the fee.

This month the mother starts a college course to improve her literacy, and her husband is set to attend parenting courses.

A spokeswoman for Essex County Council said: "We have a legal and moral responsibility to protect children in Essex who are at risk. No court would sanction a child being taken in to care unless there was a real danger of abuse or neglect to that child.

"We can understand that there may be real sadness on the part of the parents but the people of Essex must surely appreciate that our priority has to be the safety, health and protection of children.

"We cannot comment on individual cases because we have an obligation to protect the identity of the parents and, particularly, the children."