IT has been one of those weeks when you think you are living in a Jeremy Kyle horror show.

There is much sympathy for the children who were beaten and tortured in an act of unspeakable sadism by two boys aged just 10 and 11 at the time. Sympathy, too, for their families who have to help the victims live with the physical and mental scars of the attack.

Quite rightly there is no sympathy for the social services and police who missed 31 chances to intervene as the boys caused terror on their housing estate.

Less sympathy still for the attackers, variously described as “monsters” and “devil children” in the more hysterical branches of the media.

But are they not also victims in this appalling case? They were not born evil. Their characters were formed by what went on around them in a dysfunctional, violent family. They had no chance of living a normal life.

We live in a society where everyone has rights, but fewer exercise responsibilities. Incredibly, the mother of the attackers threatens to sue social services for their failure to intercede. I’ve no doubt there is a human rights lawyer out there ready and willing to take the brief.

David Cameron speaks of a “broken Britain” and rightly identifies the importance of the family in rebuilding a healthy society. I don’t think Britain is as totally broken as his glib phrase implies. Look at the inspiring way Cumbrian communities, along with voluntary and professional services, joined forces after the recent floods. No sign there of a nation in selfish meltdown.

But it is also a fact that the issue of Britain’s underclass has got worse. The gap between rich and poor has widened and one child in five is brought up in a household where nobody has a job.

The Edlington attackers are not typical of society, but they are the product of an element of society that has been led to believe that having children is a right, not a responsibility.

Seventeen years ago the James Bulger case was said to be a wake-up call. Since then social workers and police have been bogged down in form-filling, teachers have been stripped of all discipline and anyone who has stood up to the thugs has usually ended up being charged with some spurious offence themselves.

We reward the idle and run scared of the human rights of the offender and from time to time the chickens well and truly come home to roost. When they do we needn’t wring our hands wondering why.

AN ORWELLIAN THREAT

IT was those two vaguely sinister words “extra training” that painted a picture of Eden councillor John Lynch having fallen head over heels into some Orwellian nightmare because he told tales out of school, or more accurately outside the council chamber, about Penrith’s New Squares fiasco.

A government standards panel found that Mr. Lynch had breached the council’s code of conduct by revealing confidential information about proposed extensions to a store which was to form the centrepiece of the £80 million scheme.

In addition to suspension and a written apology, Mr. Lynch was ordered to undergo extra training. What could that possibly mean? Beating the soles of his feet with branches, removal of the fingernails, sleep deprivation and being forced to endure Cliff Richard records night and day until he confesses the error of his ways?

If the councillor’s conduct failed to come up to scrutiny one can only guess how far short of perfection Eden Council itself would fall if its handling of the New Squares issue was put under the microscope. Perhaps a few others might join Mr. Lynch when he is marched off in chains in the middle of the night for that “extra training”.

LIFE WITH AN ECCENTRIC TELLY

IF my television set was human, it would be sitting round in a circle of other aged sets in a home for elderly TVs. My telly is not only old, it has grown eccentric. So much so that it now refuses to show regional programs like Look North, but instead presents the news and traffic reports every morning from London.

This actually makes me feel better about my life and a sense of pity for commuters in the capital whose daily grind is made a thousand times worse by the Hanger Lane gyratory, the Hammersmith flyover and the Blackwall tunnel. The last named is invariably closed “due to an incident” causing prodigious tailbacks. And to think I used to be tetchy if I had to wait 30 seconds to get out my drive.

Don’t let on to my aged TV, but I did inquire this week about one of those fancy 42 inchers that you normally only find in the homes of the very rich and benefit scroungers.

It came at £529.99 with a label saying something about a “wow deal”. But then I noticed the small print. A further £145.99 for what’s called “breakdown cover”. But, if I buy a brand new appliance, don’t I expect it to work without having to take out extra insurance? Do they really have such little faith in the products they sell these days?

It’s the same in all the big stores, from what I can see. Whether you are buying a televison set, a camera or a washing machine, there’s the worry that, unless you pay the extra 25 per cent., you are going to be left with a duff item.

Anyway, the old set has won a reprieve. And I can inform you that the traffic queue at the entrance to the Blackwall tunnel has just got worse.

COUNTING ON ELECTION NIGHT

IT only happens once every five years. Out comes that dodgy swingometer accompanied by a frenzied Peter Snow, determined to predict the election result even as the acting returning officer for Billericay, which I seem to recall is usually the first constituency to declare, announces the votes cast.

Even those too disillusioned by politics to vote are fascinated by election night on the box. It has produced some memorable Portillo moments when the reality of a lost seat has dawned on crestfallen candidates.

First come the exit polls. Then the early results and all that speculation. Snow’s swingometer threatens to collapse. Finally some solemn words from a Dimbleby.

But now lazy councils say it’s too much trouble to count the votes when they come in. They want to leave it until the next day. Well, it’s just not good enough. They should be ordered to get on with the job. Election Night and a shaky swingometer have become woven into our heritage and no petty council official should be allowed to come between Peter Snow and the viewer.

SAVE EARLY FOR CHRISTMAS

THEY haven’t quite got round to playing Noddy Holder over the tannoy yet, but with January nearly done and dusted it is time to begin thinking about Christmas.

I popped into a well-known store one day this week for a spot of lunch. Idly reading the till receipt, as one does while awaiting the arrival of one’s fish and chips, I couldn’t help noticing the advice to “pick up a card and start saving for Christmas today”.

The shops usually start getting ready for Christmas round about the end of August. But this is a definite first. Nothing like ramming the message home early, is there?