Teh One Who Knocks
05-06-2019, 11:40 AM
By Lara Keay For Mailonline
https://i.imgur.com/iGsUb9y.png
The parents of a teenage girl who went to Gretna Green to marry an older man were left stunned when they got a letter demanding they pay child maintenance for her.
Claire Milliner, 42, and Martin Chambers, 47, were shocked when their daughter, 16, ran off to Scotland to marry Thomas Arnold, 27, last December.
The pair met on an online dating app and travelled to Gretna Green where it is legal to get married at 16 without parental permission.
But her parents, of Cinderford, Gloucestershire, couldn't believe it when they received a letter from the Child Maintenance Service requesting they pay £3,634.84 a year towards their child's 'upkeep'.
They believe the request came from their son-in-law, who is a father himself.
Ms Milliner told The Sun: 'I couldn't believe it. She's still studying to do her GCSEs and he married her — and now has the nerve to ask for child maintenance. She's his wife!'
The mother added that she 'didn't take it seriously' when her daughter started dating an older man.
It was her first boyfriend, so she didn't see their plans to get married coming, she told the newspaper.
The letter they received asked that Mr Chambers pay £2,038.62 and Ms Milliner contribute £1,595.
He said: 'I guess it's for things like clothes and food, all the things that parents provide for kids. But the CMS want it paid to him.'
The Child Maintenance Service, which is part of the Department for Work and Pensions, told The Sun they believe the letter was sent by mistake.
https://i.imgur.com/Bg0IHL1.png
A spokesman told MailOnline: 'People can't claim child maintenance for someone who is married. They are defined as an adult by law.'
Since 1754, Gretna Green has been synonymous with weddings. It was first made popular by young couples eloping to Scotland to take advantage of the country's more relaxed marriage laws.
At the time, it was not legal for people under 21 to get married in England without a parent's consent.
Scottish law stated that as long as vows were exchanged before two witnesses, anybody could conduct a marriage ceremony.
As Gretna was the first easily reachable village over the Scottish border, it became a magnet for runaway couples to get wed.
The town is still the wedding capital of Europe, hosting an astonishing 5,000 weddings a year.
https://i.imgur.com/iGsUb9y.png
The parents of a teenage girl who went to Gretna Green to marry an older man were left stunned when they got a letter demanding they pay child maintenance for her.
Claire Milliner, 42, and Martin Chambers, 47, were shocked when their daughter, 16, ran off to Scotland to marry Thomas Arnold, 27, last December.
The pair met on an online dating app and travelled to Gretna Green where it is legal to get married at 16 without parental permission.
But her parents, of Cinderford, Gloucestershire, couldn't believe it when they received a letter from the Child Maintenance Service requesting they pay £3,634.84 a year towards their child's 'upkeep'.
They believe the request came from their son-in-law, who is a father himself.
Ms Milliner told The Sun: 'I couldn't believe it. She's still studying to do her GCSEs and he married her — and now has the nerve to ask for child maintenance. She's his wife!'
The mother added that she 'didn't take it seriously' when her daughter started dating an older man.
It was her first boyfriend, so she didn't see their plans to get married coming, she told the newspaper.
The letter they received asked that Mr Chambers pay £2,038.62 and Ms Milliner contribute £1,595.
He said: 'I guess it's for things like clothes and food, all the things that parents provide for kids. But the CMS want it paid to him.'
The Child Maintenance Service, which is part of the Department for Work and Pensions, told The Sun they believe the letter was sent by mistake.
https://i.imgur.com/Bg0IHL1.png
A spokesman told MailOnline: 'People can't claim child maintenance for someone who is married. They are defined as an adult by law.'
Since 1754, Gretna Green has been synonymous with weddings. It was first made popular by young couples eloping to Scotland to take advantage of the country's more relaxed marriage laws.
At the time, it was not legal for people under 21 to get married in England without a parent's consent.
Scottish law stated that as long as vows were exchanged before two witnesses, anybody could conduct a marriage ceremony.
As Gretna was the first easily reachable village over the Scottish border, it became a magnet for runaway couples to get wed.
The town is still the wedding capital of Europe, hosting an astonishing 5,000 weddings a year.