BAD driving is a scourge on the roads of this country - but when children are involved it seems even more incomprehensible.Claire Turner ended up in court after driving her children to school despite having been told to retake her licence after gaining six penalty points.

BAD driving is a scourge on the roads of this country - but when children are involved it seems even more incomprehensible.

Claire Turner ended up in court after driving her children to school despite having been told to retake her licence after gaining six penalty points.

Her bad driving on this occasion was blamed for an accident - and now she has been banned from the road for six months.

It is perhaps understandable, but not excusable, that someone living in a rural part of Suffolk might take a risk like that.

But what many people will consider incomprehensible is that a mother would take the risk with her children on board.

Turner's ban will ensure she has to stay off the roads until the middle of next year at least - and then she will have to take a full test all over again before she can drive normally.

Other road users will be hoping that this time she complies with the court order - otherwise next time she could find herself behind bars and her children would not only not get their lift to school, but the only place they could see their mum would be in the visiting room of Holloway prison.

IT IS right that the NHS should try to ensure its money is spent as carefully as possible - and that is bound to mean that some services are put out to tender.

Balancing the needs of the patients - which always needs to be paramount - with retaining the confidence of the staff needs to be as much a part of the decision as getting the best possible price.

The awarding of the sexual health contract to a new operator has clearly caused some unease among the professionals who will have to operate the system.

The new provider and the NHS in Suffolk as a whole must be alert to these concerns and listen to their experienced staff to ensure that the confidence is maintained in a service that is vital to people across the county.

KEVIN Beattie is acknowledged as the finest player ever to pull on Ipswich Town's blue shirt - but since his premature retirement nearly a quarter of a century ago he has suffered frequent bouts of ill-health.

The news that his pancreatitis has flared up again will cause concern among the legions of fans who idolised him for his footballing skills and those who got to know him as a gentle man away from the football pitch.

The thoughts and prayers of all of them will be with him today as he continues his latest recovery from ill-health in the care of his loving family.

At least his beloved Ipswich Town will have given him a boost with their fine victory over Derby County at the weekend.

A few more results like that would be just what the doctor ordered for “The Beat” and give the whole area a lift during these difficult times.