A FORMER Bolton man has vowed to take the Government to the European Court of Human Rights as he relaunches his fight to have his name removed from the sex offenders' register.

Norman Williams was convicted as part of the Bolton Seven in 1998 for taking part in gay sex parties, and was subsequently placed on the sex offenders list for admitting he had consensual sex with a 17-year-old youth.

Mr Williams, aged 54, says his name should be taken off the list after the age for homosexual consent was dropped to 16. He says he has been wrongly labelled a paedophile by neighbours, forced to move out of his own home six times, and suffered physical and verbal attacks since he was convicted.

"By being put on the register I have been labelled a paedophile," said Mr Williams, a forklift truck driver. "My family does not want to know me. I used to go out with my sisters and their kids, but now they won't let me.

"I shouldn't have been convicted in the first place. It was clearly discriminatory."

With the backing of the anti-discrimination group Liberty, Mr Williams hopes to claim against the Government in what could be a ground-breaking case.

Liberty has accused the Government of breaching anti-discrimination laws and says Mr Williams has been denied his right to privacy.