IF there is anything worse than losing a child, it must surely be not having answers to just how and why the tragedy occurred.

That is what the Clough family have been living with since April 2009, when their 12-year-old son Damian died in a fire at their home in Keighley.

Two teenagers were arrested and charged with manslaughter in connection to the fire, but the case against them subsequently collapsed. However, someone must have been responsible for the arson attack, and the police have now issued a fresh appeal for help in finding those responsible.

Although more than five years have passed since that terrible day, someone, somewhere knows just what happened there. Someone is responsible, and it is to be hoped this new police appeal will help trace the killers.

Not just so that those who committed this atrocity can be brought to justice, though that of course must be the result of this fresh inquiry into the incident.

But also so that Damian’s family can be given the answers they deserve. Those closest to this 12-year-old boy who lost his life have been tortured long enough. It is time that they knew what happened and why those responsible did what they did.

That won’t bring Damian back, of course, but it will perhaps allow his loved ones to feel that this terrible chapter of their lives has at least got some closure. Anyone who knows anything which might help the investigation is urged to get in touch with police. And for those who had a hand in this tragedy, it is not too late to step forward and do the right thing.