Angry dads who cannot see their children are planning a campaign across the region to raise awareness of their plight.

Pressure group Fathers 4 Justice wants a change in the law to ensure that all parents and grandparents get access to children when a couple separates.

The North-East branch today announced a year of protests to highlight the issue.

Paul Watson, branch leader, said: "This is the start of 12 months of serious civil disobedience.

"We are not a bunch of nutcase dads. We want to get the message across that there needs to be a change in the law."

Mr Watson, 35, and two colleagues dressed up as superheroes Batman, Superman and Spiderman on Monday (FEB 2), for a roadside protest on the Tyne Bridge between Newcastle and Gateshead.

It was part of series of national protests on bridges across the UK and follows on from the actions of David Chick in November last year. Dressed as Spiderman, he climbed a crane and brought a large part of London to a standstill.

"Every child thinks their dad is a superhero, yet a hundred children a day have their father cut out of their lives," said Mr Watson.

"It was a good-humoured protest and we got a good reaction from people passing by."

He joined the group last year after a long battle to gain access to his daughters, who live in the Stanley area of County Durham.

"I went three and a half years without being able to see my girls," he said. "My ex-wife did not want me to see them and the courts would do nothing to enforce contact.

"Grandparents have the same problems when a couple split up. Last week, my kids spoke to my mother for the first time in four years." The North-East branch of Fathers 4 Justice already has more than 200 members, with more joining each week.

"This problem is especially prevalent in the North-East," said Mr Watson. "All we want to do is raise awareness, because we have just had enough."

For further details on the campaign group, contact (01787) 281922, or visit the website, www.fathers4justice.org