POPPY Wright - the little girl forced by insurers to prove her late father really was her daddy - will start 2006 with her future security still undecided.

A battle for compensation for the York two-year-old, whose father, Rob Phillips, was killed in a road accident before she was born, has gone to York County Court.

But at the end of a one-day hearing, Judge Sapsford QC reserved judgement until next year.

Poppy's mother Melanie Wright, 27, of Heworth, who had hoped the matter would be settled before Christmas, said she was disappointed by the delay, but believed the decision might now come at about the time of Poppy's third birthday in February.

The Evening Press reported earlier this year how Poppy, her mother and two of Poppy's grandparents were all having to undergo DNA tests to prove Rob's paternity.

Rob, a motorcyclist, was killed in an accident at Clifton Moor in 2002, aged 23, six months before Melanie gave birth to Poppy.

The driver of the car involved admitted careless driving.

Her insurers Direct Line admitted liability and agreed to deal with Poppy's claim for dependency, which reflected the fact she would have been financially dependent on Rob had he survived.

But the insurers asked for paternity to be established through the DNA tests.

In October, the results confirmed that Rob was Poppy's father, and Melanie called for the case to be settled as quickly as possible.

She said: "I really don't want it hanging over us for another Christmas."

Direct Line said then it hoped to reach a settlement before the matter went to court, but an agreement between the two parties could not be reached.

The court heard that a number of factors had to be taken into account in determining how much compensation should be paid.

Counsel for the insurers, John McNeill, said these included how much Rob might have earned in his job as a mechanic, how much Melanie would earn, taking into consideration child care for Poppy, and how long Poppy would be dependent on her mother.

He said another factor was the potential risk that Melanie and Rob's relationship might have broken down, considering they were relatively young, and had only been going out for five months and living together for ten days when he was killed.

Melanie's solicitor, Stuart Hanley, of Langleys solicitors, said afterwards he accepted there was some risk of a relationship breakdown, but not to the extent suggested by the insurers.

"At the end of the day, they only lived together for ten days because of the tragic accident," he said.

He expressed disappointment that Direct Line had been unable to negotiate a satisfactory settlement without the matter having to come to court.

A solicitor for Direct Line declined to comment.

Updated: 10:36 Thursday, December 22, 2005