But after several years they remained childless

But after several years they remained childless.In 1996 the couple moved to their Ramsey home. With no children of their own but comfortably off, they applied to become foster parents with a view to adoption, and in March were put in charge of Jade and Hannah. It was love at first sight.BY THE time the girls were fostered, both had led troubled lives, their natural mother, Jackie, having lived in a series of scruffy bedsits. She was still a teenager when Jade was born in November 1993, and her relationship with the father, Paul Duckett, was already strained. She spent three months in hospital being treated for post-natal depression. Shortly afterwards she and Mr Duckett split up.After the birth of her second daughter, Hannah (the identity of whose natural father remains unknown), Jackie broke down and put both the girls in care – not, she said, because she did not love them, “but because I did”.

She was initially impressed with the home selected for the children but later became concerned. She told Mr Duckett that she thought the Bramleys were “weird”. He believes that the Bramleys’ control over the children was inconsistent – at times strict disciplinarians, at others allowing the girls to run wild.While the Bramleys’ disappearance is a matter for the police, the likelihood of an independent adjudicator being appointed to the case means that immunity from prosecution is also possible. In the past, where natural parents have abducted children from their foster parents, they have received hefty prison sentences.If the Bramleys ever were to be granted the right to adopt Jade and Hannah it would mean ripping up every guideline written on adoption. They have put the two little girls through a traumatic experience which could cause long-term damage.

The children may well need counselling, says a spokeswoman for the British Agency for Fostering and Adoption.If the rules are to be followed, the Bramleys should never be allowed near a child again. Michelle Elliott, director of the children’s charity Kidscape, sympathises with the Bramleys but believes they will lose in a court of law “What they have done will go against them. It’s just too bad a compromise could not have been reached earlier.”. Twenty thousand pounds may not get you a garage in central London, but it is surprising what you can buy around the country.

Or you can look at trailers, boats and other forms of housing. Unfortunately at this, the bottom end of the market, lenders tend to evaporate and you’ll usually need ready cash. You’ll almost inevitably have to restrict your search to a few areas around the country where property prices are consistently low, although the odd bargain can be had even in the South East. It is possible to buy a property for under pounds 20,000 in London but it is likely to be a ex- council flat in a tower block.
According to the Land Registry’s most recent residential property price report, the cheapest regions are the North, North West, Wales, Yorkshire and Humberside. Pockets of Scotland are also a good source of cheap property. General Accident at Dingwall (01349 864848) has a two-bed house for pounds 17,000 in Avoch, a fishing village near Inverness, with lovely views of the Moray Firth.By county around England and Wales, the cheapest areas are Blaenau Gwent, Kingston Upon Hull and Stoke-on-Trent.

Blackburn, Blackpool, Caerphilly, Derby, Denbighshire, Doncaster, Hartlepool, Leicester, Middlesbrough, Port Talbot, northern Lincolnshire and Rhondda are also inexpensive.Yet the survey’s more expensive areas have bargains too. Geering and Colyer at Folkestone in Kent has a one-bed flat near the mainline railway station and the harbour for pounds 19,750, while Abbotts in Norfolk offers a one-bed flat in Downham Market for pounds 17,500.If you can keep your head, try auctions. On Wednesday, estate agents William H Brown is auctioning a four-bed terraced house in Hemsworth, West Yorkshire, for a guide price of pounds 16,000. Other auctioneers include Allsop and Co, Edwin Evans, FPD Savills, Winkworth and General Accident.