WE all recognise that Swindon social services department has monumental problems to overcome.

But what on earth was it thinking about when it decided to accommodate a 16-year-old boy with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in a room 30 miles from Swindon, where all he had to do was watch TV?

And why was it possible for him and his friends to kick in the door of an unmanned police station and steal a police car which he then drove at apparently reckless speeds. At the very least the place should have had an alarm.

In a bland statement social services acknowledge that they have a duty to provide vulnerable 16 and 17-year-olds with supported independent living.

This is another case in which bland excuses are now being given for a shameful failure to do its job.

It might well be nothing less than a miracle that this bored youth, his friends and innocent road users were not killed.

Regardless of the difficulties the department has in housing youngsters like him, supervision should be a priority.