I HAD a phone call from an old friend on Friday, but he wasn't calling for a pleasant catch-up but to tell me that it was his nephew Ryan who had been beaten up on Thursday night and that he wasn't expected to make it.

I felt sick.

The family were in intensive care at the hospital and Ryan was on a life support machine. He had received a terrible head injury.

I've met Ryan's dad a few times - he's a lovely guy. I didn't know Ryan but I know enough about his family to know what sort of lad he must have been.

So why did something so terrible happen to this family?

Ryan went out for a drink with mates never to return. He was 19.

His parents received the worst possible news - imagine that phone call?

How can any parent cope with losing their child? It's so wrong, you should never have to face that.

You would rather die yourself than have your child suffer.

It could have been one of my sons, it could have been yours.

I saw Ryan's uncle again on Monday. The doctors had told the family that Ryan would never recover and they then had to make the heart-breaking decision to turn off the life support machine.

He said the parents' grief was unbearable to witness.

In this job you become almost hardened to stories about crime - another statistic, another victim.

We expect Monday mornings to be about trouble that happened over the weekend.

But when you know someone who is involved, you share their pain.

What crumb of comfort can we offer Ryan's parents to prevent another needless death?

Everyone is still reeling from the death of Garry Newlove and yet, weeks after his killers are sent to prison, here we have another senseless death on our hands. Another young life ended.

We have to do something and do it now, to stop Warrington spiralling out of control.

I really believe it is time to reclaim our streets.

To stand up for what we believe is right so that something good can come out of such tragedy.

I want to live somewhere that is safe, where you are not afraid to walk down the road after dark.

A town that we can be proud of and know that our families growing up here can do so without fear.