To think the bereaved parents of the children in the recent coach crash should be able to visit the tunnel and place flowers without TV cameras up their noses?

[Sparklingbrook]

that is just appaling beyond words thebody :(

thebody, we aren't that far from Alvechurch and DS saw it in the local newspaper. I told him that these things are very rare, and then he saw all the reports about the Belgian one.

It must have been so hard for your DD going back to school, and getting on a bus-so brave.

Are the 3 girls back home in hospital?

How awful thebody. I am glad to hear that your DD is healing.

But will it ever change Lunatic? Can anything be done? It's really got to me today, and made me think.

To just add as parents we seem to be on some sort of heightened sense of alert, difficult to explain but I know I feel anxious most of the time and lots of the other parents agree.

It's all me and dh talk about when she is in bed, it seems to have taken us over but I guess it's just a matter of time.

The adults on the coach are suffering badly, teachers and instructors, I think they had such stress and responsibility to get the kids out, to try and assist I nured and stop children seeing the worst sight of all, their lovely teacher who was dead, just overwhelming, school have been fantastic though and excellent councellors.

thebody xx

SO PLEASED your DD is OK, its just harrowing

as for printing their blogs, thats evil IMO

To just add as parents we seem to be on some sort of heightened sense of alert, difficult to explain but I know I feel anxious most of the time and lots of the other parents agree.

It's all me and dh talk about when she is in bed, it seems to have taken us over but I guess it's just a matter of time.

The adults on the coach are suffering badly, teachers and instructors, I think they had such stress and responsibility to get the kids out, to try and assist I nured and stop children seeing the worst sight of all, their lovely teacher who was dead, just overwhelming, school have been fantastic though and excellent councellors.

But, and this is just my opinion, until we stop wanting the ins and outs of everything, there will be a need for intrusive press. Whether the need is real or just a perception of the media.

It's not been very long thebody, it will take time.

Yes agree sparkling its defiantly so raw now. I think also most of the reporters looked so young( age showing) so maybe empathy comes with age and parenting, who knows.

Still people are also so wonderful, you guys, the police were just exceptionally kind and caring to the children and us.

Virgin chartered a special carriage for them from London as girls too scared to get on a coach again and they filled it with sweets, chocs and drinks for them
And guards stood by the door to make them feel safe so most people were wonderful

thebody - what a horrendous experience, I can't imagine how awful it must have been.

YANBU OP. The families are going through pure hell and don't deserve the added pressure of press intrusion. I don't know what the solution is tbh. The press industry appears to be so cut throat and the public's appetite for these details insatiable. Until that stops (and I don't see it happening any time soon), this type of intrusion will continue.

It's just depressing that they can do it Mishy. I expect they will be out in force at the funerals next.

The Daily mail website is onto it already, there are photos. There is really nothing to say.

It's just depressing that they can do it Mishy. I expect they will be out in force at the funerals next.*

I expect you are right unfortunately.

I knew someone who started as a reporter in the local rag and they used to have access to the emergency services information somehow. He used to doorstep families for photos of their deceased relatives. Horrible, really horrible.

I'm so annoyed by this. I'm Dutch and thus have been following this mostly via the Dutch/Belgian websites and there has actually been a request to the media not to use these really intrusive pictures of the relatives. Most of the 'respectable' Dutch and Belgian media are sticking to it and I'm rather that the BBC, which I'm sure likes to think of itself as respectable, isn't. I wouldn't expect any better from the Daily Fail, but the BBC ought to know better.

I feel really strongly about this as I grew up in Dunblane and was a teenager at the time of the shooting. I was fortunate in that I didn't lose anyone who I knew directly knew, but it is a small community and we were all deeply affected and grieved. The worst moment for me was coming out of the church service on the Sunday after the shooting (which was probably the most emotional moment of my life) to be faced by a wall of cameras. The image of that flashing when I was deeply distressed is imprinted in my mind. What is was like for those who had lost a child I can only imagine.

We were lucky in the sense that it was before the days of social networking and 24 hour news, so we 'only' had to deal with journalists pestering on the phone and stopping us in the street (it didn't happen to me but I know many who did experience this). What the intrusion would be like today makes my blood run cold.

ITV news are all over the story now, watching the coffins come out of the plane. I have turned over.

I have been listening to the belgian radio all day on t'internet. They have a national day of mourning. It's tragic.

What has upset me (having lived 15 years in Belgium and seeing it as my second home) is how many of my british friends have only really reacted on this tragedy now that it transpires there is a little british boy who has been killed.

Aren't all 28 of the lives which have been lost equally valuable?

I thought that too. The British press have leapt on the fact there was a British boy on board.

I am so upset with the coverage.

It's just depressing that they can do it Mishy. I expect they will be out in force at the funerals next.

Sadly yes I suspect. Will it stop? Probably not, not as long as there is a drive in the media to have the latest stories with glaring headlines, all to sell newspapers or increase viewing figures. Doesnt make it right but I wonder who is feeding who? Is it a case of supply and demand for exampkle or is this just the excuse the media trot out.

The Daily Mail had quite close up and intrusive shots of Jedward at their Grandfathers funeral last week on their website - why???

I bet the majority of people who watch the news and read papers don't want to see people trying to grieve in private. (Do they?). I am a bit confused and upset by it all TBH.

Surrounded, my mum rang me in tears about it early Wednesday morning from UK having heard about it on R4. We are near Leuven and dh flies near Lommel.

'What has upset me (having lived 15 years in Belgium and seeing it as my second home) is how many of my british friends have only really reacted on this tragedy now that it transpires there is a little british boy who has been killed.'

I don't think that's true. In our family we were talking about this the morning the news broke and were shocked and appalled. A child's a child. A loss of this size is a huge thing for any community to bear.