The revelation that some Bradford school children aged 13 and 14 are working when they should be at school, or are delivering milk half the night before turning up exhausted for their lessons, is disturbing though perhaps not entirely surprising.

There have always been some youngsters who prefer the world of work, and the money it brings in, to the classroom. And there have always been unscrupulous employers willing to employ them illegally at rock-bottom rates.

Nevertheless, some of the examples produced by Bradford Council's newly-appointed Attendance Co-ordinator are shocking: a 14-year-old working during school hours to sell double glazing on the telephone; a 13-year-old delivering milk from 1.45am to 8am before going to school.

This is a long way from the acceptable face of child employment. There is nothing wrong with some forms of work, which are perfectly legal: delivering newspapers before or after school, helping out at the local stables, working on Saturday in a shop or at a hairdresser's. This sort of experience can provide an invaluable introduction to the adult world of employment and the self-discipline and commitment it demands.

However, the children who are prepared to put work first at the risk of seriously damaging their educational prospects are acting very misguidedly. The people who are happy to employ them on the cheap are behaving illegally and disgracefully, and those parents who condone it are doing their children no favours.

The Council is right to have decided to take a tough line to enforce the employment law designed to protect children from exploitation, and to remind everyone of their responsibilities.

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