MARK Goddard - the man in the middle of a battle against bureaucracy - has vowed to continue his fight. He believes that red tape is keeping him apart from his wife and he is critical of the system which is denying her the granting of a visa. Speaking fro

MARK Goddard - the man in the middle of a battle against bureaucracy - has vowed to continue his fight.

He believes that red tape is keeping him apart from his wife and he is critical of the system which is denying her the granting of a visa.

Speaking from Jamaica in an exclusive interview with The Crow, 41-year-old Mark said the whole situation is becoming "ridiculous".

One reason is that he and his wife Stephanie have now been told that it will not be until November when the British Consulate in Kingston will decide on the visa question.

"All that seems to be happening is that we are being kept apart," he said. "I didn't believe that we would have to wait this long for a decision."

The saga began shortly after February when Mark and Stephanie were married in Jamaica.

After a honeymoon in the West Indies, Stephanie applied to have her visa re-newed. The process took months and she was eventually told that it was being refused.

This was despite the fact that she had attended college in England and was working here when she met Mark.

Mark said: "To be perfectly honest the whole situation is getting on our nerves. We never believed that it would be as long-drawn out as it has become.

"It's taking months to work through the paperwork and it seems a ridiculous way to deal with such an issue," he said.

"Every time we attempt to raise the issue our path seems to be blocked," said Mark, who was recently voted the best Elvis Presley tribute act in England and is also a warm-up man for the Trisha Show.

He said he had attempted to raise the case at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, but it would not even give him an interview.

Mark, who attended Roysia School and The Meridian School in Royston, will be returning shortly in an attempt to continue raising the case in this country.

"Whenever we attempt to do something there is always a door that is slammed in our face," added Mark.

His mother, Barbara Goddard, of Leete Place, Royston, told The Crow last week that the whole situation was "ludicrous".

"It's red tape gone mad," she said.

Last week's story in The Crow was reproduced in the daily newspaper in Jamaica, The Gleaner.

A spokesman for the British Consulate in Kingston said it did comment on individual applications.