ABDUCTION of a child is a parent's worst nightmare and it is easy to understand the feelings of desperation and panic which overtook the family of a Rishton primary schoolgirl who was allowed to leave the premises with a man the teachers did not know.

The man turned out to be the girl's uncle, but the mother who arrived five minutes late to collect her daughter was not aware he was calling at the school. As far as she was concerned, her little girl had left school with a man, and staff did not know his identity.

The headteacher at Rishton Methodist Primary School has set up an investigation to find out "what happened and how it happened."

It is disturbing that a primary school should have to set up such an investigation in the first place. Most parents, who go to great lengths to ensure the safety of their children, expect primary schools to have security systems in place which offer at least the same measure of protection.

Media attention to the vulnerability of children has made them more aware of the dangers.

Sadly, the days when it was safe to let an eight-year-old out for the day to play in the park or the countryside are long gone.

Thirty or 40 years ago it was different. Abductions and attacks on children were almost unheard of -- partially because they didn't seem to attract the same level of publicity.

Today the threat posed by paedophiles is a constant worry for most parents. Certainly these misfits seem to be far more active and the theory that they are encouraged by access to child porn on the internet cannot be discounted.

Whatever the reasons, parents have the right to assume that the one place their children are safe is in school.

School staff have to be vigilant, especially when children are about to leave for home. If they spot an adult they do not recognise on the premises the alarm must be raised.

They cannot afford to take chances with precious young lives.