They are not without their dangers: disused railway lines, flooded quarries, slag heaps and mineshafts. And, however much there are warning signs about such hazards and fencing to keep people out, these will sometimes be ignored with tragic consequences.
There are limits to what can be done to further minimise the risks of such natural dangers; much more attention is likely to be given to the risks of young people behaving ferally in these isolated settings. Such risks have come to prominence once more with the horrendous attacks on two children - by two other children. We should remember that 10-year-old Mary Bell murdered her child victims on wasteland by a railway line, and James Bulger was taken to a similar location before his tragic killing - by two 10-year-old boys.
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