A FORMER Swindon Crown Court judge is the new chairman of an independent foster caring agency in Royal Wootton Bassett.

Judge Charles Wade, who also spent a decade presiding over family court hearings in Wiltshire, joined the board of Community Foster Care because he was inspired by what he saw when his daughter and her husband became carers for the charity.

A solicitor for many years before his appointment as a district judge in 1989, and then as a circuit judge, he was a familiar face on the bench in the Swindon courts until his retirement in 2011.

“I have seen the often very difficult issues which some families face, from the other side of the fence,” he said.

Judge Wade, who is married with four children and 11 grandchildren, told the Advertiser: “I suppose my knowledge of the care system particularly, gives me a lot of very good background on how these children arrive where they are.”

He said carers, who were often presented with children on an emergency basis, didn’t always understand how the system worked and what had happened to the children beforehand.

As a judge he dealt with many sensitive cases and young people caught up in the criminal justice system. His experience has also been used to help train some carers.

“An awful lot of what goes on in the criminal court filters its way into the foster care system,” he explained.

“The need for people to come forward to foster is enormous still because there are lots of children in the system who need them.”

He said he joined CFC because he was impressed with the support it provided to the carers and the children.

“When I was asked to become a trustee, I was delighted to be part of an organisation which does a difficult job supremely well,” he said.

He has nothing but praise for the carers providing hope and a safe place for children who find themselves in care through no fault of their own.

“In uncertain times, our foster carers are doing a fantastic job looking after extraordinary children, sometimes against incredible odds. My message to them is to keep doing what you do so well and CFC will do all we can to support you,” he said.

CFC, based at Lime Kiln in Royal Wootton Bassett, is a registered charity and not-for-profit company which provides foster carers and family support programmes for children all over Wiltshire.

Chief Executive Matthew Roberts welcomed the judge. “His experience, wisdom and understanding are without parallel and I am confident Community Foster Care and Family Care will go from strength to strength under his guidance.”