Mother wins battle with MoD to prove dead soldier fathered her daughter

Published on 27/11/2012 00:00

A YOUNG mother has won her fight to prove her fiancé fathered their daughter before he was killed in Afghanistan.

Emma Hickman, 19, who was engaged to Private Daniel Wade, struggled to officially name him as the father of five-month-old Lexie-Mai because of a legal wrangle over his DNA.

Pte Wade, of 3rd Battalion, The Yorkshire Regiment, died in a Taleban bomb attack in March, three months before his daughter’s birth.

Because he and Miss Hickman were unmarried, she had to press the Ministry of Defence to release his DNA so she could prove paternity and name him on the birth certificate.

Prime Minister David Cameron last month pledged to tackle the “dreadful situation”, saying it “could not be allowed to continue”.

Officials have now released a sample proving Pte Wade was the father and his family is now eligible for compensation.