A York couple today vowed never to foster children again after the baby girl they were caring for was "snatched" back by social workers.

Sally and Mark Barker, of Weddall Close, off Tadcaster Road, are in despair after losing the girl they had been looking after for six months.

They claimed social workers swooped on their house and whisked the eight-month-old away.

Mrs Barker said: "It was so undignified and no way to treat us. We have done nothing wrong."

East Riding of Yorkshire Council, which placed the child with the Barkers when she was eight weeks old, confirmed she had been taken into council care as a result of a court order.

A spokesman would not say why the council had acted, but the Barkers believe it was because they were becoming too attached to the baby girl.

"We were guilty of liking her too much. We did want to adopt her, but we knew that would be a separate procedure," said Mrs Barker, who works on the problem line at Radio York.

"It was the way they did it. It was just like the Mafia. They had a car parked round the corner and two men came in and said they were taking her. We argued, and eventually they agreed to let us have two hours with her before they took her.

"She was very upset and we really felt for her. We feel we have let her down. She will think we have abandoned her. Even if we can't adopt her, we are the best people to move her on because we know all about her. She should be here with us.

"It is like somebody has taken our own child. We are distraught. We don't want to foster again."

Mrs Barker said she and her husband, a computer engineer, had actually been planning to make a formal complaint before this had happened, because they were unhappy with the way social workers had been dealing with them. She said: "We want some answers now. We want them to explain why they have done this."

East Riding of Yorkshire Council "borrowed" the Barkers from the City of York Council, where they are registered as foster parents. In the past 18 months, they have cared for four children, including the baby girl.

Jim Crook, assistant director of children's services for the City of York Council, said the Barkers were still valued as foster parents.

He said: "It would be unfortunate if they decided not to foster again but I do understand that they have found this situation difficult.

We will certainly do whatever we can to help them think through what has happened."

The baby's natural mother had regular contact with her daughter, said Mrs Barker, who claimed they all got on well. She said the mother had been on holiday when the baby was taken.

A statement from East Riding of Yorkshire council said it could not comment further on the matter for legal reasons.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.