The Soham trial will leave all parents fearing the worst. How can potentially evil men who prey on children be allowed jobs where they have perfect access?

Much closer to home is the swimming coach who struck up a three-year relationship with a girl 31 years younger than him.

Stephen Hartley is clearly a danger to children and the fact he took advantage of what started out as a teenage crush is despicable.

He should not be in a position where he can have access to children and there must be some system that could have prevented him.

No doubt parents whose children attended Warminster Swimming Club will be horrified when they read how this man admitted four serious sex charges against an underage girl.

It is too horrifying to believe.

Granted, he is not in the league of murderer Ian Huntley but all sex crimes against children are socially abhorrent.

What makes this case worse is the fact this man managed to groom his victim while playing the charade of a happy, family man with a wife and three children. Who would ever have suspected?

This case needs to act as a reminder to the authorities that there are flaws in the system and they need sorting fast.