As the custody battle between Madonna and Guy Ritchie continues over their 15-year-old Rocco, a judge presiding over the English proceedings has pleaded with the high-profile couple to find a resolution to avoid taking up any more of their son’s "fast receding" childhood.

MadonnaMadonna has been fighting to get her son to live with her in US since December

Legal action has been taken on both sides of the Atlantic but Mr Justice MacDonald ruled that the English proceedings could be halted and urged the popstar and her former husband to find an "amicable resolution" to the ongoing issue.

Madonna lodged a claim under child abduction laws in December last year when Rocco went to live with his father in London.

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However, the star applied to withdraw that legal action earlier this month but Ritchie and his legal team opposed the move, indicating the film director wanted to see the matter resolved in the UK instead of the US.

The Telegraph reported that the core issue between Rocco’s famous parents was a "breakdown of trust", with Judge MacDonald explaining "the boy very quickly becomes the man".

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He said: "It would be a very great tragedy for Rocco if any more of the previous and fast receding days of his childhood were to be taken up by this dispute.

"Far better for each of his parents to spend that time enjoying, in turn, the company of the mature, articulate and reflective young man who is their son and who is a very great credit to them both."