Stopped my ex partner seeing his son

Hello, hope you can advise!

7 years ago myself and ex spilt up due to his family being very controlling towards me and my baby, wouldn’t let me buy clothes for my son, once he was born wouldn’t let me hold him etc at the time I was living in there flat with his parents and family so it was very overcrowded. I split up with him and started therapy as I suffered really bad post natal depression after the abusive of his family. In hindsight I know I should have went to the police but I was broken. For context he is not out on the birth certificate and still holds no parental rights, hasn’t paid child support since the day he was born.

although I wanted to co-parent for my son to have his dad in his life, this put me at a real financial strain of having to go to food banks while working full time just to support us when I was single.

For a few years it’s been ok.. besides him dropping back late or sometimes never dropping him back, I work early mornings so forcing myself to stay up to wait for him was really affecting me. I pay for absolutely everything, school related, food, bills etc I’ve asked him to help out in the past but he’s always said I should be paying his petrol for driving to our house.

Our agreement was always every weekend only and drop back Sunday for school, but recently I’ve got married and I am now pregnant he has turned very bitter and during Christmas wouldn’t drop my son back to hurt me as we wanted to celebrate together as a family, his family also doesn’t celebrate Christmas, so purely to spite us as I do not drive so I couldn’t collect him myself it broke me.

So in January I took the courage to tell him about mediate as I thought it would be good to have a child agreement in place for times he needs to bring him back as his bedtime is 7pm and his dad would drop him back 9/10 if that 11pm on a Sunday which I expressed was going to affect his education.

He immediately was hostile about the idea but started to drop back earlier so on a Sunday so I thought things were getting better and mediation was no longer needed as long as we could agree for what’s best for our son I didn’t see a reason to take things further.

Now, things have taken a turn.. 4 weeks later I have had a police report from him stating I apparently slapped him in an argument 7 years ago, which I’ve never hit anyone or him so this really shocked me, his allegation hasn’t gone anywhere but the police had turned up to my address to make me aware of what’s been said.

My heart broke and I was told if we do go to court this allegation will go against me, even without no evidence etc. the day I found out from the police, I cut all communication and ties with his dad and have told him he’s no longer allowed to see my son until he gets a court order, in the meantime I’ve filed for child maintenance as I never did as I didn’t want to cause any drama but at this point I couldn’t care after what he has done.

Legally as it stands now, I’m worried once it goes to court he will get parental responsibility or his weekends back. I’m not 100% against my son seeing his dad I’ve always put him first, but I fear my no contact will fuel him more to make false allegations and get 50/50. He still lives with his parents, and doesn’t have even a bedroom for my son, they live in a tower block in a really rough area too, and we’ve recently moved to the countryside to give my son a nice life with lots of space and his own room.

Any advice moving forward would be amazing, am I doing the right thing stopping my son seeing his dad, he’s 7 years old and I’ve never wanted to do this but I just believe after everything he’s done I no longer can allow him too.

thanks for reading x