A HEARTBROKEN Craven couple have spoken of their disgust at a criminal justice system that they claim has failed their children.

Their Hungarian au pair Zsolt Vamos was accused of abandoning his charges, assault, and intimidating a witness. But due to a legal mix-up the case collapsed.

The complainants' father said his children had been failed by the judicial system.

In Court, his 13-year-old son gave evidence, claiming he had been bitten and beaten by the defendant and said he had seen him throw his younger brother against a wooden board.

"He can't believe that he has been beaten by someone in his own home and no-one will do anything," said his father.

The teenager now wants to become a judge in order to give people a fair hearing.

The case was sent for trial at Bradford Crown Court nine months ago so that the children could give evidence via a video link - there is none available in a magistrates' court.

This was against the father's wishes as he was told that his son's statement, recorded on video by police, would be admissible in a magistrates court. The children would, therefore, not have had to appear in court.

It took from September to July to bring the case to crown court.

The intimidation charge was subsequently dropped, despite the jury reading a letter sent to the family from Mr Vamos which stated: "You must pay me only £10,000 compensation for libel and many problems you caused me....If you don't understand me, you will be poor. I promise you. I know."

The abandonment allegation was also dropped, and after the 13-year-old had given his evidence, the judge ruled that the common assault charges should not have been brought to crown court. He sent them back to the magistrates' court for a new trial.

But the father said there was no way he would allow his son to give evidence for a third time, and on Friday, Skipton magistrates dismissed all charges. Mr Vamos was handed his travelling expenses back to Hungary.

Before the case got under way at the crown court problems had already arisen.

The couple claim that the defence barrister approached them with a settlement offer. The barrister claimed that Vamos would plead guilty to three charges of child cruelty if the others were withdrawn.

The couple were given three-quarters of an hour to make a decision and decided to accept the deal so their youngsters would not have to give evidence. They were later told that CPS would not accept the bargain.

The CPS spokesman said counsel was obliged to consider the views of the victims and their families, but CPS had the final decision. He said the pleas did not reflect the alleged criminality in this case.

Another point of concern was that the couple's 13-year-old son was forced to give evidence alone as his parents had to wait elsewhere as they were also witnesses. The father said that they had never been offered any victim support.

The mother added that her son had become "aggressive" and they had been "terrified" the defendant would come back to the house.

The CPS spokesman said: "As with all cases which are unsuccessful we are reviewing it to ensure that lessons are learnt for such cases in the future. We are aware of the concerns of the family."

The family are pursuing legal action against the CPS and have asked that the defence barrister and judge be struck off. They have written to Prime Minister Tony Blair and to CPS in Harrogate.

They are also pursuing legal action against Amber Au Pairs in Dudley who facilitated the placement of Mr Vamos. The family claimed they had asked for a female who spoke good English, but got a male with no childcare experience who spoke very little English.

Michael Hammond, legal advisor for Amber Au Pairs, said the family was given a choice of au pairs and that they picked Mr Vamos from information that was sent to them.

The couple is calling for the Home Office to bring in more stringent regulations to ensure the au pairs are qualified and suitable to work with children.