THE drowning of eight-year-old Jaffer Javid in a pond surrounded by derelict wasteland has stirred the emotions of an entire town.

The youngster had been playing at Blackshaw Lodge, a dangerous stretch of water, with no fences or warning signs.

The murky water where Jaffer met his death can be reached by a short walk down a cobbled path, past the litter of unwanted household goods and overgrown patches of uneven ground.

Chillingly, local residents say the area during the school holidays -- leading up to the tragic youngster's death -- had been packed with children enjoying the sporadic bursts of summer sunshine.

After Jaffer's death, though, it is unlikely that any sensible parent would allow their children within 100 metres of the area. But it is all too easy to forget the heartache that the area has caused when the sun comes out again and the children go out to play.

The Bolton Evening News, however, is determined that Jaffer's death should not be in vain.

His was not just another story on another page of a newspaper there to be forgotten in a wealth of newsprint in months to come. Blackshaw Lodge, like so many other dangerous and unofficial children's playgrounds, needs to be tackled and put right.

If we can save just one life, it will be worth it.