THE horrific slaughter of thirteen little children in a Scottish school by a madman with a gun appals beyond words.

But though the causes of this dreadful carnage may never be fully understood, one fact is plain at the outset.

That is that the security of schools and the safety of their pupils and staff must be looked into urgently.

For it would be trite and irresponsible to suggest that this shocking mass murder was simply the awful but unrepeatable consequence of one of the rarest acts of craziness - in short, a terrible, unpreventable one-off event.

That is because, as we have seen on several occasions in recent years, it has happened before.

Only two years ago a murderous knifeman held a class full of children hostage at Middlesbrough before stabbing a pupil.

Shortly before that a maniac with a flame-thrower device invaded an exam room at Ulster injuring several children.

And, here in East Lancashire, a vengeful boy launched a machete attack in school.

It could happen again. Unless security in our schools is tightened up.

Yes, our schools ought to be places that are part of the community.

But, as this and other events have proved, they are far too open to the mad and evil sorts lurking in the community.'

Whether this means TV cameras, security doors or even guards, this worst of horrors shows that the best of protection for our children is urgently needed.

And all of this needs backing up with gun laws that are so strict and draconian that no-one whose stability is open to the slightest doubt ever gets within yards of a gun again.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.