WORCESTERSHIRE Children's Services were slammed in a report into the care of a vulnerable young boy, and the case raises vital questions about the pressures faced by local authorities.

With 22 social workers involved, and "no consistent planning" made for the boy's care, we have to ask, how did the powers that be get things so wrong?

The fact that the council says that improvements have been put in place to prevent something like this happening again is reassuring, but scant consolation to the boy and his family.

As Justice Keehan himself said: "I readily recognise that all children's services departments are under great pressure as a result of increasing demands on their services and the economic climate.

"Neither, however, to my satisfaction explain the local authority's past failings in this case."

There is extreme pressure on children's services, but there are some cases, like this one, where there is no excuse.

We can only hope that they really do learn from this incident and become much better dealing with this type of matter in the future.