The news that a 38-year-old man today lies in a hospital bed fighting for his life after being stabbed in Blackbird Leys will shock any right-thinking member of society.

But even more shocking is the news four teenagers were arrested over it.

One was aged just 13.

We hope every parent reading today's Oxford Mail will be shocked to the core.

Shocked that the knife crime we have heard so much about in London and other big cities has reared its ugly head in Oxford; shocked that children have been arrested; and shocked that carrying weapons appears to be the norm these days.

There will be some who wheel out the tired old cliches about Blackbird Leys, too.

The sad irony of the episode is that Witney MP and would-be Prime Minister David Cameron yesterday delivered a speech extolling the virtues of a strong, family unit.

Speaking in response to the gunning down of 11-year-old Rhys Jones in Liverpool, Mr Cameron said parents needed to know where their children were and what they were doing.

Absolutely right, Mr Cameron.

But in many cases parents do not know where their children are, who they mix with and what weapons they might be carrying.

The gun and knife crime rife in our cities today is a cancer that has spread to the core of society - and there is no quick fix.

Forget the idea that conscription and National Service is the answer, because the world has moved on.

Children get their kicks these days from so many sources - 24-hour television, internet music downloads and video consoles - rather than comics, conkers or catapults.

There is no immediate solution, but the best place to start would be for kids' role models to stop glamorising violence.