IT IS HARD to imagine a more nightmarish situation than a pair of lunatics - one with an unmistakable record as a danger to the public - being on the loose, armed with a knife.

But when crazed East Lancashire couple Julie and Douglas Byelong, who met and married in a mental hospital, went on a 75-mile honeymoon rampage of attempted murder, double kidnap and affray the mad husband was, unbelievably, free in the community with official blessing.

With that liberty - despite a long history of severe psychiatric illness and a record that repeatedly marked him out as a potential killer, and with his wife's absconding from a medium-secure unit - came a trail of terror that yesterday shocked a Crown Court.

The psychopathic ex-Broadmoor patient and his mentally-sick bride first kidnapped a taxi driver and later stabbed him.

Then after stealing his car, they stabbed a woman's dog to death before kidnapping a six-year-old boy from outside a pub and driving off with him.

Now, both are in custody.

But that is not a good enough conclusion to this startling case.

For though there are many questions to be answered about Mrs Byelong's escape from the unit where she was held, others thunder over her husband being given his freedom.

Just what was this man, described in court as a "grave and immediate danger to the public," doing in the community at all?

Who let him out?

And why?

And with what, if any, supervision?

We can, in view of his manifest history as an extremely dangerous madman, think of no reason for him ever being allowed out of a secure mental hospital.

But, evidently, someone or some persons did.

Will they come forward and be identified and accept the responsibility for their action and attempt to explain it?

We ask this because, whenever cases occur of dangerous and sometimes actually murderous lunatics being released into the community to commit terror - and there have been far too many of them - it seems that those responsible for their liberty are seldom held to account or made to pay for their dreadful mistakes.

But, surely, they must in order to prevent such blunders being made again.

For though, time and again, the Care in the Community system has revealed alarming failures, they will surely go on unless those responsible for them are exposed and deservedly weeded out.

Let us then, as the investigations take place into this shocking case, have the truth of who was to blame for this nightmare fully out into the open - and let them be made to carry the can, too.

Nothing less will suffice.

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