A group of fathers yesterday called for the law on child custody to be reviewed after a man was refused the right to appeal a court decision that enabled his ex-wife to move to the US with their children.

The Court of Appeal turned down the application to appeal from the father of two, who had shared custody of his youngsters, and said as far as they were concerned, at that stage, it was the end of the matter.

President of the Court of Appeal Sir James Astwood questioned whether it would be in the best interests of the children to allow the appeal, when it would take maybe three years for a final decision to be made.

He said the children had moved to America last September, and would be allowed to remain there with their mother until a judgment was finally given.

The father, who cannot be named for legal reasons, left the court saying he felt saddened by the decision, but said he was unable to comment further.

The man's lawyer, Claire Hatcher, told the Appeal Court that she believed the proper guidelines had not been followed when the children's mother was given permission to live abroad last September.

The court heard how the mother, a Bermudian, wanted to take her two eldest children to America to live, where her second husband was originally from.

The day after she won her case, the mother left the Island for the US.

The group of fathers, who had turned to support the man in his case, said the issue of child custody needed to be addressed because the law was stacked against males.

Founder of the Father's Resource Centre Alvin Goulbourne was one of the fathers in court to offer support yesterday and said afterwards that too often it was a foregone conclusion that mothers would end up with custody of children.

Mr. Goulbourne said: "In this case, a Bermudian mother was allowed to remove her Bermudian children from Bermuda against the wishes of a caring and loving father.

"Once again, two children no longer have a father. Yes, he will visit them during holidays and vacation, as he can afford it. However, he is now more of a visitor in their lives than before.

"He is still their father, but this ruling all but insures that his contact will be limited to that allowed by time and circumstances and according to the mother's desire."

He added: "Were the best interests of the children really considered or is this another case where the desires of the custodial parent (mother) are automatically seen to be in the best interests of the children?"

The group said, despite the loss, they were trying to set a precedent for future dads.

Ms Hatcher said despite social inquiry reports carried out in Bermuda stating that full investigations on the children's proposed schooling, living arrangements and support network in the US be completed, they had not been carried out when Justice Charles-Etta Simmons granted the mother's application.

The court heard the mother had been ordered to ensure the children were sent to schools of excellence in the US. Ms Hatcher said there were no schools of excellence in the area they were living.

Ms Hatcher said she had applied for a stay of execution, preventing the mother from leaving the Island before the leave for appeal was granted, but the application was refused.

Supporter Harry Landy said: "Fathers are simply treated as banks. We are very often not given a say in how our children are brought up, yet we have to keep paying out."