A jester handed out leaflets outside Oxford Crown Court, in a protest over access to his daughter.

New Fathers for Justice campaigner Roger Crawford donned the traditional jester’s hat and held a placard which read “Family Courts: Breaking Hearts, Destroying Lives,” during his four-hour protest in St Aldate’s. Mr Crawford, 60, said he had only seen his 16-year-old daughter Heather in courts since she was two-and-a-half years old.

The Bedfordshire man said he was protesting outside the court as his case had been heard there because his daughter lived in Thame.

Mr Crawford, who handed out leaflets detailing his plight between 10.15am and 2.15pm, said a court order prevented him from contacting his daughter.

He added: “I got dressed as a jester because I think the family court system is a joke. This is the only way, through publicity, that I can get any message to my daughter that I still love her.”