The front page of the October 22 edition of the Hayes Gazette reported on the murder of a man in Blyth Road the Friday before.
This must have been a devastating loss to anybody who was close to the victim but what also worried me was the headline, which said 'Murder has got us all pretty scared.'
The report included comments from a number of residents who were understandably alarmed about what had happened.
However, the article went on to report that, on the following Monday, the police had arrested and charged another man who also lived in Blyth Road and that he had been remanded in custody.
Many people seeing the headline might have thought that there was still a murderer or other suspect on the loose, and because I was so concerned about that I checked the situation with the police.
They confirmed that they are not looking for anybody else.
Any murder that takes place is a shock to the residents living nearby but I hope that people living in Hayes will be reassured that this was not a random attack and that the police have been very effective in quickly arresting a suspect.
DAVID BROUGH,
chairman, Hayes Town Partnership.
