How To Start A Panic In Six Easy Steps…

First, send unnecessary letters to everyone everywhere who is in the general target range (or not):

Parents of 16,000 pupils have been sent stark letters warning that internet predators may be trying to groom their children for sex.

Second, ignore the fact that the actual number of victims is small:

Police believe at least 20 pupils – and fear as many as 50 – have been ensnared on Facebook and other social networking sites over the past three years.

Third, deny that you are actually trying to panic people:

In a bombshell letter, signed by headteachers, parents were told there was no need for alarm.

Fourthly, wrap yourself in the ‘It’s for the chiiiilllreeen!’ figleaf:

But it added: ‘The safety of your child is never more important than at this crucial time.’

Fifthly, ignore the actual MO of the suspects and cast your net even wider, so you can panic everyone:

Jenny Faulkner, who is Torbay council’s ‘children’s champion’, stoked further anxiety by warning children: ‘Don’t go about alone – go in groups of twos or threes or fours.

‘We are saying children need to be careful and be vigilant. If they are going home, they should go straight there.’ She urged parents: ‘Just watch your children.’

Finally, get your hysterical reaction out before the police can spoil the fun with some, y’know, facts about the investigation:

Police sources said none of the attacks were random and many of the victims were vulnerable children, some of whom had run away from home and had fallen into drug use.

Now sit back and watch the ensuing mob hysteria:

…parents spoke of their fears after news of the investigation emerged. Sharon Houghton, who has children aged 11, 13 and 15 at different schools in Torbay, said she and her husband Ray were worried and in the dark.

‘It is obviously very concerning and we have been given very few details about the investigation,’ she said. ‘I am now thinking I can’t let my kids go out. I want to know where they are at all times.’

One mother of a 13-year-old girl said: ‘We’ve been told not to let them on these sites like Facebook because they could be meeting up with strangers.

‘These older boys seem friendly and nice on the internet but they are a real threat.

‘I’ve talked to a lot of the other mums and we’re all going to stop them going on there.’

Job done!