A TODDLER was taken into foster care for four months - because his parents refused to feed him junk food.
Paul and Lisa Hessey sought the advice of doctors when their two-year-old son Zak refused his mum's healthy home cooking and started losing weight.
But their move triggered a shocking chain of events that led to Zak being put in foster care after they rejected advice to feed him high-calorie snack food like chocolate, crisps and cakes.
The pair - who both believe in healthy eating - went to court and, after four months, Zak returned home with the blessing of social services, who accepted he had good and caring parents.
Zak is now putting on some weight, but parents say his eating problems have not been cured - and he has acquired a taste for junk food.
Mrs Hessey, aged 48, said: "I thought I was doing the right thing going to the best people for advice when Zak began to lose weight.
"Instead they basically accused me of neglecting him and implied it was all my fault. I have four other children and they are perfectly healthy, it was just that Zak was refusing food for some reason.
"They said I should just feed Zak chocolate, cakes and junk food just to get calories into him. But I objected, saying that was only a short-term answer and not a proper solution.
"The Government and doctors are always drumming into parents the importance of healthy eating - yet they were telling us to feed Zak all the wrong things.
"That is obviously what they were doing when he was in foster care so now it is hard to get him to eat anything else."
Mrs Hessey and her 48-year-old husband, a lorry driver, live in Bolsover and took Zak to see a paediatrician at Chesterfield Royal Hospital in July. He was 20 months old and weighed 1st 3lb.
Mrs Hessey, whose four other children are under 10, said she was happy for Zak to be admitted for a two-week hospital assessment and was shocked when she went to collect him on July 24.
She was taken into a room with a nurse and social worker who she says told her they wanted Zak to go into foster care to assess how he feeds.
Derbyshire County Council said: "We only take a child into our care either with the consent of the parents or following very careful consideration by a court."
A spokesman for Chesterfield Royal Hospital said: "While we understand Mr and Mrs Hessey's distress, Zak's welfare was paramount and we believe we acted in his best interest."
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