I saw this when it was first broadcast in the UK by the BBC, and it may indicate how affected I was that this was the only time I have ever written to a broadcaster in praise of something they've shown. It's a truly horrifying story, and one can only feel sadness that Steven Staynor never really got a chance to rebuild his life.
One of the morals of the story is to make sure you teach your children never to accept lifts from strangers - I'm a bit older than Steven was, and when I was about his age when he was kidnapped, the Moors Murderers, Ian Brady and Myra Hindley, were active not too far away from us. My parents were so successful in instilling the "don't take lifts" instinct into me that I wouldn't even take lifts from people I knew, or more distant relatives! This was a bit of a problem one day when my school was being closed early because of a snowstorm and the teachers had a bit of a struggle convincing me to allow myself to be given a lift the two miles home!
One of the morals of the story is to make sure you teach your children never to accept lifts from strangers - I'm a bit older than Steven was, and when I was about his age when he was kidnapped, the Moors Murderers, Ian Brady and Myra Hindley, were active not too far away from us. My parents were so successful in instilling the "don't take lifts" instinct into me that I wouldn't even take lifts from people I knew, or more distant relatives! This was a bit of a problem one day when my school was being closed early because of a snowstorm and the teachers had a bit of a struggle convincing me to allow myself to be given a lift the two miles home!