The innocent face of Sarah Payne has been a haunting image for Sussex and the whole nation this month.

First there was the fortnight when everyone hoped against hope that she was still alive and since then there has been a huge hunt for her killer.

It was a truly shocking crime, but there is a danger that in concentrating on this one case, we are distorting our attitude on child safety.

The enormous public reaction to her death and the sea of flowers by the A29 at Pulborough reminds me of the death of Princess Diana three years ago, when Britain went into emotional spasm.

Sarah's death is horrifying because the circumstances are so rare.

Sadly, many other children are murdered, but in most cases a near relative or friend is responsible. Only this week we had the terrible story of a father killing not just one child, but all four of them and his wife before committing suicide.

On average only seven children a year are killed by strangers in this country. Each death is shocking, but many more children die each year in fires, drownings and road accidents. Their deaths are no less appalling, but they do not evoke the same response.

When Sarah first went missing at East Preston after playing in a field, the local MP, Peter Bottomley made some sensible remarks about how the family should not feel guilty about having left her there without adult supervision.

I fear this will not now be heeded by millions of other concerned parents.

Today's children live in a world far more exciting, colourful and interesting than the drab, sepia-coloured Britain inhabited by anyone now over the age of 40.

But they have been deprived of a most precious facet of childhood; the freedom to wander around at will.

Most middle-aged people have fond memories of playing in the streets, of mooching about, of mucking around in the countryside and leading a whole life away from adults without any worries.

The vast increase in traffic, coupled with a much more protective attitude by parents towards children, means that it's now rare to see them playing in the street.

It also means that many children today are growing up cocooned, unfit, and completely unstreetwise.

People talk about paedophiles as though they have only just been invented and as if they all have murderous intentions, but they have always been around and few inflict physical danger.

In the past, most kids had a sixth sense about whether any strangers were likely to be a danger and in case of emergency, simply scarpered, darting down dark alleys where few adults would be able to follow.

Child killers are rare. Paedophiles are not. What is needed is a strategy enabling these people to control their behaviour and keep children as safe as possible. The entirely understandable revulsion produced by the killing of Sarah Payne is having the opposite effect.

The disgraceful name and shame campaign from the News of the World is helping to produce vigilantes and mobs who feel they can take the law into their own hands. They are surrounding houses where they believe paedophiles live and making threats. In many cases they have chosen the wrong home or the intended victim has not been there.

Faced with mob rule, what will paedophiles do? They will go underground, making it far more difficult for police officers, social workers and probation staff to keep a wary eye on them and increasing the risk they will offend again.

Sarah Payne's name will remain in the headlines until her killer is caught and it is right this should be so. Her brave and loving family knows all the publicity may help lead to the detection and conviction of this man.

But we must not allow this tragedy to ruin the way in which we care for our children.