A WORD FROM THE HEART - PLEASE PLEASE HELP FIND APRIL JONES

A week ago, five year old April Jones went missing in Wales.  A missing child, it's a mother's worst nightmare at the best of times, you have to have eyes in the back of your head to make sure they don't go wandering off when they are so young! Granted, I'm not a mother, but my friends and family are and I've been around them long enough to witness the panic that they can feel if they lose sight of a child just for a split second. And now, as an Auntie, even my own heart stops when my niece and nephew aren't with me.

Since April went missing, the police have charged a local man, Mark Bridger with three counts, 'child abduction,'  'murder', and 'attempting to pervert the court of justice.' Here lies the conundrum.  As far the public know from reports in the media, the only reason that he's charged with all three counts is because the police had 'sufficient evidence'and that he was found wandering near her home the day she disappeared. Does this mean he was staking his claim to take her?

For those of you who may be thinking, surely she is not arguing his case? No, I am just putting the two sides forward.  They have not found a body yet and we don't know the 'evidence' the police have against him.

I find it very difficult that the police can charge a man on three counts in a case that has such a high public profile, a case that is so heartrendering to the of people Britian because April has cerebral palsy. I for one want to know what the 'sufficient evidence' is.

As a young adult with cerebral palsy I would have naively said that there is no way that a man could take such advantage of a child. But it wasn't until I saw and experienced things at school, that I realised how unkind and cruel men can be.  And as I head towards my 40th birthday next summer it is still hard to except that it is a fact of life. Men have and will prey on women and children, only these days, because of the way the media works, we hear about it more often than we used to. Look at the recent  discovery about Jimmy Saville for instance - how did he keep manage to keep it all so quiet all his life? The fact that the women are only coming forward now is just dreadful. Imagine what they have suffered emotionally all their lives.

However, this is not about Jimmy Saville, this is about April Jones.  April Jones, a pretty five year old girl whose favourite colour is pink.  I do not know her but in the pictures she doesn't look like she has cerebral palsy.  And if this is the case, then like me, she may not be badly affected, even if she has to overcome difficulties with speech, physio and occupational therapies.  I would hate for her to be taken away at this young stage in her life when she could have a full a life as I have had

So please, from the very bottom of my heart, please say your prayers that she is found healthy, happy and returned to her parents safely. I can't imagine what they must be going through.

And God forbid her body is found, and Mark Bridger is found guilty......