Keep your kids off the tracks

Despite repeated calls from a passerby to get off the line, used by express trains at speeds of 100mph, they continued to stride along the sleepers, apparently counting them.

In other circumstances, this would be a perfectly innocent pastime. In reality, it is a deadly game which could not only have claimed the girls' lives but also put in danger many others.

We hope that when the children have been identified they can be made to see that their behaviour was far from innocent. We also hope that parents will speak to their youngsters and point out the hazards faced if they turn a railway line into a playground.

Make someone pay for this shambles

IT'S a national scandal that the Govern-ment still fails to fundamentally improve the tax credit scheme, which helps make working for a living pay for some of the most vulnerable people.

Billions have been overpaid - and the Government continues to insist that the poor pay back what they should not have received. The irony appears to be totally lost on Whitehall, despite stinging criticism.

The Parliamentary Ombudsman has repeated her complaints after noting that while some improvements have been made since she last attacked the administration of the scheme, there is still 'a long way to go'. Someone should be made personally accountable.

Sick of arguing!

BEING in a tempestuous relationship could lead to more than a broken heart, say researchers. For people trapped in a cycle of rows and rages are 34 per cent more likely to suffer heart disease, including fatal heart attacks. Did it really take a scientist to point out that being permanently in the dog house is bad for the health?