FECKLESS dads who refuse to pay child maintenance to their ex-partners face prison or losing their driving licences under a tough new crackdown.

During a day of action, 21 cases of child maintenance debts totalling £100,000 have been heard by magistrates in Hyndburn.

In one case alone, an Accrington dad owes £25,000 after failing to pay for his children for several years.

Blackburn with Darwen MP Jack Straw said: “I am in favour of getting tough with absent parents who will not pay up. I have had a lot of experience of this as Blackburn’s MP and have come across some harrowing cases.

“I am afraid it is almost always absent fathers who will not live up to their responsibilities.

“This is the right thing to do. It shows absent fathers that they will be taken to court and they will face penalties. It takes a lot to get them there.”

Hyndburn MP Graham Jones, said: “The trouble is we have two child support systems. The old one put difficult expectations on the father and I have every sympathy for dads who fall behind with their parents.

“The new system however is much more balanced. However, there are always going to be people who think they can play the system and get out of paying and it is enforcement hearings like this that could make absent fathers step up to their responsibilities.”

Work and Pensions Minister, Maria Miller, said the Government was determined to collect as much Child Support Agency debt as possible ahead of major reforms which start coming into effect next year.

Applications for driving bans and prison sentences are a final resort for parents failing to support their children over long periods of time.

She said: “For too long we’ve had a child maintenance system in this country that fails children, parents and the taxpayer. Half of children living in separated families do not benefit from an effective child maintenance arrangement and there is little support for parents to work together and for reluctant parents to take their responsibilities seriously.

Fiona Weir, from single parent support charity Gingerbread, said: “These figures show the extent of non-payment of child maintenance.

“At a time of real economic hardship for many families, this money is badly needed and could really make a difference to children’s lives.”