THE first we often hear about a train going through a red light is as the cause of a serious accident.

This is not acceptable, and we back Bolton MP Ruth Kelly in her quest for answers as to why trains have run red lights eight times in the last 10 years at Lostock Junction.

The worrying statistic has emerged in a report which names the local junction as among the worst signal blackspots in the country.

And the most serious incident reported is a real nightmare scenario: a rush-hour train went for 300 yards past the red light at Lostock.

It is easy to forget the potential devastating effects of a train going through a red light. This happened at Paddington in 1999, when 31 died and 400 were injured.

Railtrack say that they have done everything they can at Lostock Junction -- including cutting back overhanging trees and a giant "reminder board" just prior to the junction.

But, Ruth Kelly is right. We need answers to this worrying situation on one of our busiest commuter pathways.

The rail route there offers additional cause for concern -- Manchester Piccadilly was named in the same report, with 11 trains running red lights in the last five years.

The government is constantly urging residents in towns like Bolton to travel by public transport. But, as this newspaper has often said, there is a duty of care implicit in this.

We do not want the implications of that to surface via the emergency services in the wake of a rail accident caused by a train driver going through a red light and crashing.

Statistics can easily be dismissed as vulnerable to manipulation, but, in this case, they relate to practical incidents of real concern.

And figures in a report have a frightening habit of being translated into body count if problems like this are left unsolved. Under siege? IT is a cause of real sadness for today's society that elderly residents in Little Lever are demanding a wall around their sheltered housing complex.

They say they are being terrorised every night by groups of youngsters aged between seven and 11.

This situation is all down to the individual parents. They have a responsibility to teach their children, and prevent them from misbehaving, especially towards the most vulnerable members of the local community .