A distraught father has spoken of his anger and disappointment with a protracted custody battle for his 12-year-old boy.

Talking to yesterday, Jason Burrows revealed that his son, who he did not wish to name, is currently living with his mother in a one-bedroom house along with five other people and is not, he says, receiving the ?guidance and direction he needs to become a respectable member of the community?.

Mr. Burrows lost the first custody battle with his ex-girlfriend almost three years ago, when a court ruled the mother was fit to look after the child.

However, he decided to resuscitate the matter as it became clear the boy?s grades were plunging and he was largely being left to his own devices outside of school hours.

Last week, Family Court Judge Tyrone Chin ordered Mr. Burrows and his ex-partner embark on a process of mediation with family counsellors ? with the matter not due back in court until March. ?In the meantime, my son is still failing in school and hanging around on the streets unattended,? he said.

Mr. Burrows, who now lives with his wife of four years and their baby in a two-bedroom house, first became concerned when he called to speak with his son one evening last month ? only to be told by the mother that she did not know where he was.

?She told me that if he called, she would give him the message to get back to me,? he said. ?The boy is 12 years old and it was eight at night when I called the house. I could not believe it. I knew he had been at Somerset Cricket Club at soccer practice so I got in my car and drove down there to find him.

?When I arrived at 9 p.m., I found him hanging around in a well known drugs areas near Arnold?s supermarket with a whole bunch of older guys. I was appalled.?

The boy is currently attending middle school and Mr. Burrows claimed his academic performance has dropped off dramatically since he has been living under his mother?s roof.

?I just got his last report card and he has been getting Ds and Fs in practically every subject,? he said. ?I am not saying he has got a bad mother or anything but, in a house with that many kids, it is obvious he is not getting enough attention and is suffering from that neglect. I am really frightened that if this continues I am going to lose my son. I want him near me on a day-to-day basis so that I can look after him and keep him on the straight and narrow.?

Mr. Burrows was at pains not to criticise the judge directly, but said he felt compelled to speak out in order to highlight the problems fathers ?often face? throughout the custody process.

?This is not about the relationship between the mother and father ? it is about the welfare of my son,? he said. ?How many other fathers are also facing this predicament? I am a law-abiding citizen with a job and a newly purchased two-bedroom house.

?Fathers need a voice in the community because I don?t think that our circumstances are often properly considered.?