Thousands of estranged fathers have no contact with their children after starting new families.
A study shows that one in eight divorced or separated fathers has lost all contact with their children from their first relationships, a study shows.
A million men are estimated to have dependent children who they don't live with. And almost 130,000 of them have no contact at all with their children.
The figures have emerged from a study by the National Centre for Social Research (NatCen) using data produced for the annual British social attitudes survey.
Eloise Poole, of NatCen, said the importance of economic factors in parental contact was a cause for concern.
She said: "Some fathers simply don't have the financial resources, or spare bedrooms, to be able to maintain regular contact with their children."