Three judges, sitting at a Court of Session in Edinburgh, have ruled that a couple with learning difficulties are to have contact with their three-year-old son severed in a bid to give him a settled home environment.

They went to the Court of Session to fight an order granted to Aberdeen City Council by a sheriff that their three-year-old son known only as "J" should be adopted.

The natural parents were fighting for the right to maintain access to the child.

Continuing contact was all the parents could realistically offer their son, according to the lawyers.

But the judges have ruled against them after being told that they had persistently failed to meet their responsibilities.

Lords McCluskey, Cameron and Penrose agreed with the sheriff's opinion that there would be an unacceptable risk to the toddler's welfare if he was removed from the home where he is currently being raised.

The judges ordered that all access between the natural parents and the boy should cease.

For legal reasons the couple involved in the case cannot be named.