AN interesting EU ruling last week may prove to be another useful milestone in the campaign to give UK grandparents a legal right to see their grandchildren.

The European Court of Justice stated that access rights are not solely limited to parents and include grandparents and divorced parents must not deny them this.

A similar move in Britain to guarantee grandparents’ rights already has cross-party support and proposed laws are being discussed by ministers. It could involve a change to the Children Act 1989 which would establish a “presumption” of access by grandparents, uncles and aunts after parents split up.

Brexit or not, if this latest European move influences Britain’s stance in any way it has to be a positive step for the thousands of grandparents still unable to see their grandchildren.

Some have been accused of harassment because they try to send birthday cards or presents to their grandchildren. And recent figures reveal that, in one year alone, almost 2,000 grandparents were forced to go to court to win the right to see their grandchildren.

Now don’t get me wrong, I know that not all grandparents behave blamelessly. Some interfere unforgivably in their childen’s relationships and some may have unrealistic expectations about their role as grandparents.

But ... many divorcing parents give in to the temptation to further take out their anger on their partner by punishing his or her parents and other family members. Specifically, they stop access to their children – even when those children have had a warm and loving relationship with grandparents.

Children need different generations of their extended family in their lives, especially today when parents’ busy lives mean they can’t always be there for their children when it matters.

We all know of loving grandparents who make a real difference in their grandchildren’s lives, and are much more than just free babysitters. Many grandparents make a very positive contribution to their grandchildren’s education and development just by being there, listening to them and taking an active interest in them.

Currently, if they want to retain any contact with grandchildren they may have previously seen regularly they must apply to a court for access rights, then for a child arrangement order – all of which takes many months and costs thousands of pounds in legal fees.

So, please, let’s get the law right on this in Britain and help grandparents AND their grandchildren get back together.