A woman who went to “live the dream” in Australia has found herself bogged down in a legal nightmare which could take years to unravel.

Amy Bottomley says she left Huddersfield in 2011 when she was 25 and at first all went well as she “met some amazing people and saw some fantastic places.”

She fell in love with a man called Callan and they had a son called Rome. However, the relationship broke down in January 2015 and she was left penniless and homeless and unable to work, as she only had a visitor’s visa.

Amy Bottomley and her son Rome
Amy Bottomley and her son Rome

Fortunately, a family member of her partner’s took pity on her and allowed her and Rome to stay in their home while she organised a flight home.

But the father got wind of her intentions and put Rome on Flight Watch until he is 18 - meaning she can’t take him out of the country without permission.

Thanks to an organisation called Nova which helps women and children who have been victims of domestic violence, financial hardship and homelessness, she now gets a modest sum of money from the state to live on.

Amy Bottomley and her son Rome
Amy Bottomley and her son Rome

She says after 18 months of arguments in the family courts their latest ruling is for Rome to live with her, his father to see him every Saturday and for him not to leave Australia.

But she says there is no visa to match her criteria, meaning she has to keep applying for visitors’ visas.

There’s no guarantee one will be granted - and that would mean she’d be forced to leave, while her son must stay.

Amy Bottomley and her son Rome
Amy Bottomley and her son Rome

Amy, 30, of Newcastle, New South Wales, said: “I’d like to be granted the right to work and to live in Australia with my son and if they can’t grant then for me to be have the Flight Watch lifted so I can bring my son back to Huddersfield instead of being subjected to living in poverty with no way out.

“I see the future being a long road as I’ve been stuck in the court system for 18 months. We haven’t even been given a trial date yet.

“One governing body orders me to leave yet the other orders me to stay. How can this be possible? There is no logical answer to this shambles.

“My parents have supported and will keep supporting us with money, love and support.

“As an English citizen and with Australia and the UK sharing the same Queen I think it’s disgusting that neither of them have done nothing to help me as an English citizen or my son as an Aussie citizen. They all should be ashamed.”