IT would have been a great shame if 62-year-old James Gibbons and his children had been split up because he was deemed to be too sick to look after them.

And it was not a situation social workers could easily solve because they have a legal obligation to ensure that the youngsters, aged 13 and 15 are in the care of a responsible adult.

That duty meant they couldn't turn a blind eye to the fact that the dad's chronic condition left him bedridden.

In the absence of older brother Michael they would have had to take the teenagers into council care at a significant cost unless they could find someone else to look after the family around the clock.

Now that Michael has moved back home that immediate crisis has been resolved.

But he has already helped his family a lot and deserves the chance at the age of 25 to make an independent life of his own.

Let's hope the breathing space Michael's return home has provided will give various professional agencies the chance to put together a package of care which will enable the family to stay together without the emotional upheaval and financial cost involved in a split.