Last updated 11:36, Thursday, 17 April 2008

WHAT amazing dignity was shown by the parents of 19-year-old Indira Swann when being interviewed about the death of their daughter in the Ecuador coach crash which claimed the lives of four other young women.

It was the quiet dignity of the sort of decent, caring family we hear so little about in this age of binge drinking teens, absentee parents and the whole gamut of anti-social behaviour which has become the blight of Britain.

Questions are now being asked about the safety of gap year students and the validity of some of the overseas community schemes that are being exploited by less reputable travel firms.

In this case the trip was organised by a tried and trusted company. These were young women wanting to broaden their experience of life and help others.

It seems the good die young. It is a total injustice that the brightest and the best should die in this way.

But in a world where kids are either wrapped in cotton wool or left to their own feckless devices out on the streets, we should never dissuade the spirit of adventure in young people and the grieving parents of Indira made that clear despite their tragic loss.