WHAT a sad indictment of the times we live in.
A pensioner trying to be helpful when he spots a toddler seemingly on his own wandering through Intu Derby shopping centre becomes the subject of an investigation after the boy's mother reports the incident to the police.
It later emerges that the 80-year-old man in question had innocently tried to help the youngster and, according to the police, had been "acting with good intentions".
It is easy to understand the actions of the mother in reporting the incident to the police.
Watch the CCTV footage here: But it is also very sad that strangers are automatically viewed with suspicion and mistrust in relation to children. Experts blame this change in society's attitudes on the shocking abduction and murder of Liverpool toddler James Bulger.
That dreadful incident, which happened 21 years ago and involved two child offenders, has had a deep impact on people's awareness of, and behaviour towards, strangers.
Yet this must be all so alien to older people who were brought up in a time when front and back doors remained unlocked and children took themselves to school at the age of five.
It has been revealed that the pensioner in question has been left mortified by the publicity surrounding the incident and by being the subject of such unsavoury suspicion.
We suspect the consequence of this will be that he will never again come to the aid of someone whom he thinks may be in trouble.
And how sad is that?
For, on another day, in another place, he and we suspect many others like him, will turn the other cheek rather than risk their intentions being misconstrued.
This in itself may also have very unfortunate consequences.
