Dad conned into thinking baby was his 'devastated'

A man whose ex-partner forged paternity test results to make him believe he was the father of her child said what she did had ruined his life.

Ryan Hampson was at the child's birth after rekindling his relationship with Beth Fernley after she forged DNA test results to make it appear there was a 99.9% probability he was the father.

Fernley, 26, of Warrington, Cheshire, admitted fraud by false representation at Liverpool Crown Court and was sentenced to 13 months in jail, suspended for 18 months.

Mr Hampson - whose name was on the child's birth certificate - said his proudest moment was becoming a father, but when he found out it was a lie he was "left grieving over a child that was still alive".

He called for a change in the law to allow for mandatory paternity testing before a birth is registered.

But the Home Office said there were no plans to do so.

Mr Hampson told BBC North West Tonight that he asked for the DNA test in 2019 after Fernley told him she was pregnant.

The court heard how Fernley had asked Mr Hampson for £300 towards the test, and then sent him screenshots which she claimed were from company EasyDNA.

Mr Hampson then rekindled his relationship with Fernley.

She later forged another letter when the child was a toddler.

That letter suggested the DNA company had made a mistake and he was not the father, the court heard.

When Mr Hampson contacted the firm, the forgery and deception started to unravel.

He said: "They told me that there was no record of me.

"They never sent the letters to me and they actually told me to seek legal advice because they actually thought I was a victim of fraud."

He described feeling "shocked", "numb" and "devastated" at the news.

"I honestly couldn't believe it," he said.

His mother, Claire Hampson, said it was "heart-breaking" to watch her son's "whole world fall apart" while trying to process "the fact there's been so much deceit not just to Ryan, but to us as well".

Mr Hampson contacted police in July 2022 and Fernley was arrested.

On sentencing, the Recorder of Liverpool, Judge Andrew Menary, described it as "a particularly dreadful offence".

He said when police became involved she continued to deny she had lied, in a "perpetuation of sinister dishonesty".

Mr Hampson and his family want more recognition and punishment for paternity fraud.

"The actions that were committed were utterly dire.

"We are a victim of fraud and I felt like this should have been taken a lot more seriously."

He wanted to keep a relationship with the child who he said he "adored" but the biological father is now back.

"The hardest thing I ever done was to let [them] go," he said.

"I felt like it was the only right thing for me to step away and I have done that to protect [them]."

Mr Hampson said he is having counselling and with the help of his family, was working to rebuild everything that was taken away from him.

A Home Office spokesman said it took such cases seriously.

The spokesman said: "Fraud, and specifically paternity fraud, is a truly terrible crime, and those who provide false information on a birth certificate already face a criminal conviction.

"Work is under way on a new, expanded Fraud Strategy and we continue to work closely with private industry, law enforcement and tech companies to go after those committing fraud."

However, he added: "There are no plans to change the Births and Deaths Registration Act 1953 to include mandatory paternity testing prior to a birth registration taking place."

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