PAEDOPHILIA is a crime which inspires the strongest of emotions - emotions which can easily run out of control.

All over our region there are suspected paedophiles thought to have been relocated into communities after serving their sentences. The law is perceived not to have dealt with them adequately, so people are tempted to take justice into their own hands.

Today's front page story detailing how 49-year-old Barry Sewell was horrifically murdered underlines the dangers of acting outside of the law.

Brian Kearney believed that Mr Sewell was a child sex offender so he tortured and killed him in a way that hardened police officers described as unimaginable.

The only thing Mr Sewell was guilty of was having an unconventional lifestyle. He was innocent and defenceless.

The level of brutality used by Kearney shows him to be a sick human being by any standards, irrespective of his suspicions about Mr Sewell.

Nevertheless, the case should act as a graphic reminder that even the most disturbing of crimes should be left to the police to resolve.

Rock bottom

ON Monday night, it was the original members of Cream who reformed 36 years after they last performed.

Last night, Queen took to the stage in the North-East with Freddie Mercury replaced by Paul Rodgers, who is unquestionably a fine performer in his own right.

Cream and Queen were great bands, with a musical legacy which will last and last. But, like great fighters, rock stars have to know when it is time to leave the magic of the past untouched.