MONDAY night's Panorama portrayed Blackburn as a town divided: whites on one side, Asians on the other, leaving those who watched it with a lot to ponder.

Thankfully there seemed to be light at the end of the tunnel.

Difficult as it is to admit it, Blackburn is segregated, but I think one positive to come from the programme was that it showed this segregation was not borne out of hate or lack of tolerance.

It seemed to me more out of habit than anything else.

When Indian and Pakistani migrants came over to Blackburn to work in the town's booming cotton industry almost 100 years ago the two communities were forced to mix.

They worked in the same factories doing the same job.

When work dried up many stayed, but without the daily contact of work, and because the two cultures are so different in outlook, religion, and language, they drifted apart.

And once a town is segregated it's difficult to see how it can be reversed, unless there is a compelling reason to.

After all, it's easier to stick to what you know.

People nowadays are lazier than ever - many don't make an effort with their neighbours whatever their creed or colour.

Once the barriers are up it's difficult to pull them down, and that's without people's apathy.

What the documentary showed was that the situation Blackburn finds itself in is nobody's fault.

And at the same time, it's all of our faults.

Many people wouldn't go on camera with their views for fear of being labelled "racist".

I can understand their concern, but this fear of speaking your mind only means we won't get to the bottom of the problems.

Hopefully what this documentary will have done is bring the subject into conversations without fear of being branded racist.

As Canon Chris Chivers commented: "Holding a mirror up to a town can be a painful experience because you see what the reality really is."

For me the real ray of hope came in the form of a school twinning session organised by Canon Chivers at the Blackburn Cathedral.

After seeing the depressing truth of how the town is woefully divided without much hope of change, it was lovely to see children of different races and religions mixing together without prejudice.

To me the answer lies here, with our children.

If church schools of all denominations: Muslim, Roman Catholic, Church of England, Jewish, and Sikh, were abolished and children were taught to understand the principles of each religion, and tolerance of all, I believe we'd be better off.

If diversity was the norm from an early age and children were taught that we are all the same, despite our differences, and that cultural differences are to be embraced and celebrated then perhaps this divided town can be fused back together.