Wayne Bishop: how burglar freed to spend time with his children was declared an unfit father Wayne Bishop escaped eight-month sentence in 2011 Case was first time Article 8 of Human Rights Act - right to family life - used to free UK prisoner Bishop now lost custody of all but one of five children Court in Nottingham declared two months ago children should stay with their mother Bishop's family claims he only wanted custody to claim child benefit Heading back from the shops with a carrier bag weighed down with cans of lager, shaven-headed Wayne Bishop hardly looks like a paragon of parental virtue. Indeed, given the minimal contact he now has with his five children, it seems unbelievable that this is the same man who was released early from an eight-month sentence for burglary and dangerous driving in 2011 in order to care for his brood. His lawyers, who were funded by legal aid, successfully convinced Appeal Court judges it was not in the best interests of his young children for their father to be in prison. The case was the first time Article 8 of the Human Rights Act - the "human right" to a family life, repeatedly asserted by foreign criminals to avoid deportation from the UK - had been used to let a prisoner walk free from jail. Family man? Wayne Bishop in 2011 when he was released from prison, supposedly to spend time with his children (from left) Katie, Kyle, Brandon, Courteney and Taylor Unsurprisingly, Bishop's release was widely viewed as yet another mockery of British justice. When he left prison, the 35-year-old brazenly posed for the cameras, surrounded by his children, holding a mug emblazoned with the words "World's Best Dad." Those boasts certainly seem hollow now. For the Mail can reveal that Mr Bishop has lost custody of all but one of his children, Courtney, 15, Katie, 14, Taylor, 11, Brandon, nine, and Kyle, eight. All save Katie have now been placed in the care of his former partner, 32-year-old Tracey York, and have moved out of his three-bedroom council house in Nottingham. Tellingly, Mr Bishop has also become involved in a bitter family row with his own sister, Sherrie McKinlay, who has accused him of using his children as cash cows. She claims that the only reason he wanted custody of them was to harvest their generous child benefit allowance. That a family court in Nottingham decided two months ago the children would be better off with their mother than a man who has a criminal record as long as the series of tattoos that adorn his arms might seem something of a no-brainer. But it represents a remarkable about-turn by a legal system whose kowtowing to Human Rights legislation once made Mr Bishop a cause celebre. When he first made headlines, even jobless Mr Bishop admitted that he didn't expect judges to free him, and that he had "bounced" around his prison cell with joy at the news. His gap-toothed smile beamed out from newsstands and television screens as he revelled in his freedom - and pledged to "go straight" for the sake of his children. Some chance. Only three weeks later he brutally assaulted a man in broad daylight after chasing him into a Spar supermarket. Self-congratulation: Bishop made a number of public appearances to argue his case and claim he was 'going straight' for the sake of his children He was jailed for that attack in February last year, his attempts to once again play the family card pointedly rebuffed during the hearing. "I am afraid, Mr Bishop, you have to learn that other people have rights apart from you," said Judge Michael Stokes. We all have the right not to have our homes and premises burgled. We all have the right to walk the streets without fear of being attacked. The rights that are set out by the European Convention On Human Rights are not to be produced like the ace of trumps to avoid a prison sentence. So what has become of Mr Bishop, that great "family man," since then? Since being released from jail (he served just half of his sentence, naturally), he has been at war with his relatives over the children's fate. While he was back in prison, their mother Tracey took over their full-time care, quitting her job as a factory machine operative to do so. While Mr Bishop fought to win back his children on his release from prison, the courts decided that the children were best left with his ex-partner. Mr Bishop has also fallen out with his sister, Sherrie, who claims that the only reason that he wanted to keep them was so that he could milk the £300-a-week benefits they received. "All Wayne wanted the children for was the money that came with them," said Sherrie, who like her younger brother also lives in Nottingham. He used his children as a tool to get out of prison early, but in reality he doesn't give a damn for them. I just want everyone to know that the man who cost the taxpayer all that money in legal aid now doesn't have his kids. He blames everyone else for it, but it is his fault. Sherrie is wearily used to her brother being in trouble with the law. Indeed, she looked after her nieces and nephews during some of his earlier prison sentences. Bishop is understood to have served five custodial sentences. He also has convictions for shoplifting, driving without a licence or insurance, three convictions for driving while disqualified, and two convictions for threatening behaviour. Responsible? Bishop was the main carer for his children after he split from their mother seven years ago After splitting from their mother, Tracey, some seven years ago, Bishop, who was unemployed, became the main carer for Courtney, Katie, Taylor, Brandon and Kyle. This was because mum Tracey worked shifts and so was able to care for the children only at weekends. When he was jailed in April 2011, it fell upon Sherrie to take in his children. Although Bishop was by then married to a woman called Sandra, it was claimed that she could not care for his children because she had four of her own. In that instance he was sentenced to eight months imprisonment after admitting burglary and dangerous driving. He and three men had raided Mansfield Rugby Club, before fleeing in a Ford Transit van, driving through red lights and crashing into a police car. But just six weeks later he was freed after successfully appealing the sentence. His children were key to the appeal, his lawyers arguing that insufficient consideration had been given to their interests. And so it was the sentence was suspended and Bishop freed. Rather than keep his head down, Bishop publicly proceeded to defend not just his lucky break, but his benefits-funded lifestyle as well. Appearing on the ITV's Daybreak programme he argued that people "needed to understand his situation." "All those people giving it a bad reaction need to think about single parents," he said. He would subsequently complain that the benefits he received didn't cover the family's needs - despite also admitting that his children had mobile phones, games consoles and TVs and DVD players in all their bedrooms. When asked if he would reoffend, Bishop insisted he was "going straight" for the sake of his children. Just how cheap those words turned out to be was proven just three weeks later during the supermarket fracas in Broxtowe, Nottinghamshire. Bishop repeatedly punched the victim in the head while another man held him in a headlock. The pair at first denied the assault, but were found guilty after the court was shown damning CCTV footage of the incident. In February 2012, Bishop was jailed for eight months. Again, the children were placed with his 37-year-old sister. Her five nieces and nephews were squashed into her house alongside her own six children. But while she was initially prepared to support her brother, quickly came to question his behaviour as a parent. Having left her with access to his bank account, into which the children's benefits were paid, he told her that she could have just £60 a week to cover their costs. "In total, he was getting about £300 a week in child tax credits and child benefit," Sherrie claimed. And all I was allowed to have was £12 per child - what can you get for that? Basically he just wanted to make sure that he had a big fat bank balance when he came out of prison. Reluctantly, she acquiesced to his demand to bring some of the children to visit him in Ranby Prison in Nottinghamshire, where he was being held. He always demanded that I brought them to see him. Although I didn't think it was right, in the end I took Courtney and Kyle, who would have been about six then, to visit," she recalls. During his four months in prison he wrote just three letters to his kids, the rest were to me asking about money. He'd tell the children that he wasn't going back to prison and that he was going to take them on holidays. Sherrie says that the children made it clear to her that they did not want to continue living with their father. Reoffender: Bishop was soon in prison again after a punch-up in a supermarket, and his children were placed in their aunt's care Apparently Wayne let Courtney buy only black shoes so that she could wear them for school as well as at the weekend, because they would then match any outfit. As the eldest, she was expected to get all the other kids up for school, get them breakfast, sort out the dogs - and that was before she could even get ready herself for school. Then in the evening she would have to sort out everything again. He relied on her very much. That was despite the fact that he would spend all day sitting on his a*** at home. Understandably concerned about their long-term future, Sherrie decided to support his former partner's bid to get custody of her children. While Bishop was still in prison, Tracey quit her job in order to be able to care for the children, before formally applying to the courts for custody. When he was released in June last year he was informed of the planned changes to the custody arrangements. According to Sherrie, he was strongly opposed to the suggestion that the children lived with their mother. "He was very angry about it," she said. But the trouble is he wants to blame everyone else for his own faults - this was about the children. When kids are very young and a parent goes to prison, you could perhaps pretend that they've gone away to work. But not when they're the age they are now. Wayne will get in trouble again, it is just a matter of time. He can't help himself. He had a golden opportunity and he blew it. Like I said, he has no one to blame but himself. Despite Bishop opposing the new custody arrangements, earlier this summer Tracey was granted custody of four of her five children. Katie, the second eldest of the five, chose to stay with her father. While Bishop continues to have them for some weekends, during the holidays and on some school nights, Tracey is now their main carer. Approached by the Mail, she confirmed the new arrangements but declined to talk further. A close friend said: "She realised that with Wayne's criminal record, he was not the right person to be looking after them. She is really enjoying having the children and they seem very happy. As for Bishop, he still does not have a job and, supported by benefits, is said to spend his days watching television and playing computer games in his council house. When the Mail approached his home, there was no response from Bishop. Soon after a group of youths gathered outside and told our reporter to leave, directing a barrage of swear words at him. Just the sort of behaviour that a model parent like Mr Bishop would surely abhor.