By community correspondent Gaby Mills

The final school bell rings; there’s a rush of children running for buses and trains. It may only be four o’ clock, but looking outside one might think it was more like seven. The sun is nowhere to be seen, and the constant cover of clouds doesn’t make it any easier to see where you’re going.

It’s in this environment that thousands of school children have to make their way home. Whether they’re using public transport or simply walking, it’s not pleasant to have to get to your house in the pitch black after a long day at school – and it’s not safe either.

From birth children are told to stay away from alley-ways, not to talk to strangers and to come home before it gets dark; in recent years the number of people following these rules has lapsed severely, making teenagers – girls in particular – prime targets for paedophiles and molesters.

When walking alone in the dark, it’s easy for someone to be followed without anyone seeing. One student said, “When I’m walking home I often feel like there’s someone behind me the whole way there, and it’s worse in the dark. Now that it gets darker earlier I try to get home as quickly as possible, and walk with friends too; I feel safer that way.”

Am I saying that parents should be even more controlling and pick their kids up from the school gates? No, not in the slightest. I’m just trying to express the fact that we should all take a bit more care in the dark: stay on well-lit roads; where bright clothing so cars can see you; walk in groups. These tips – suggested by a year 11 student – should make you feel safer when walking home in the dark.