They get to do everything their parents usually tell them not to do. Roam the streets, talk to strangers, eat lots of lollies and get dressed up in scary outfits.

For those of us who grew up without the ritual, it can all seem a bit pointless, but for modern-day children who have been brought up on a diet of American sitcoms and movies, Halloween is often a bigger deal than Christmas.

In communities like Windang, Halloween is also a community occasion. Those who get involve get a buzz from catching up with neighbours on the street, and many get joy from giving out lollies to little ones.

So, to hear that kids' trick-or-treat bags have been spiked with poison fills us with a sense of despair. How did it get to this, where an innocent event is turned into a potential serious health risk?

Of course, this could just be a random one-off incident, an innocent mistake, or a misguided prank. The police will investigate, and hopefully, we'll get some answers.

In the meantime, parents are frantically checking their children's Halloween haul - or what's left of it.

And during an age where lollies are individually wrapped and, in the case of Toxic Waste, the packaging is designed to look dangerous, there's a real risk of confusion when real poison is added to the mix, particularly when you trust your neighbours.

Let's hope this never happens again.

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