The disappearance of two-year-old Merlin Reid from his parents' home at Barns Green, near Billingshurst, caused his family and police huge concern.

Yet Sussex Police did not use its Child Rescue Alert to find the little boy more quickly.

The reason is the alert is aimed at searching for children thought to have been abducted, such as Sarah Payne who went missing two years ago in West Sussex.

It was unlikely Merlin had been abducted and the police did not want to cause unnecessary concern.

But the point, well made by Councillor Mike Mendoza who helped promote the scheme, is the alert could have helped the rescue operation.

By broadcasting an appeal to people, thousands more eyes and ears would have been looking and listening for any trace of the toddler.

Fortunately he was found safe and well ten hours after going missing, having become tangled in tree roots.

Child Alert is a scheme designed to help find missing children in the first few hours of their disappearance, usually the critical time.

There shouldn't be alerts every time a teenager goes missing because that would devalue the scheme.

But in serious cases such as this, even if abduction is not suspected, people would welcome a chance to join in the hunt and perhaps save lives.