According to the latest crime figures, almost 600 young people in West Yorkshire have been the victims of street robberies in the past year, very often subjected to violence and even injury.

Much of the problem is that children - some of them very young - are kitted out with the very latest in portable and expensive technology.

The average youngster today will generally be in possession of a mobile phone, an MP3 player, possibly a hand-held games machine.

It is, of course, every child's right to carry these items and every parent's right to provide them for their offspring if that is their wish.

No-one would deny them that right, and no-one would deny that everyone should be able to walk around the streets, day or night, and not expect that their personal possessions will be forcibly taken from them.

But the sad fact of life today is that there are unsavoury elements in society who will have no compunction about preying on the young to relieve them of their property.

Perhaps the answer is for children to be encouraged not to put temptation in criminals' way by flashing these expensive toys around where unscrupulous eyes might be watching.

Robbery and violent crime is never the victim's fault, but usually at the victim's cost. Anything we can do to make us less attractive to thieves and muggers is surely for the best.