Mark Cummings was sexually assaulted and strangled

Margaret Ann Cummings has been campaigning for parents to be told if there are registered sex offenders living in their area.

Her son Mark, eight, was murdered by Stuart Leggate who lived in the same tower block in Glasgow in 2004.

MSPs on a Scottish parliamentary sub committee are considering the issue.

Since her son's death, Ms Cummings has been campaigning for the introduction of what has been dubbed Mark's Law.

It would allow parents to get information on child sex offenders living in their neighbourhood.

'Going underground'

Ms Cummings, who was wearing a T-shirt with a picture of her murdered son on it, told MSPs: "I believe in my heart and soul Mark would still be alive today if Stuart Leggate knew parents were watching and on a more basic level my son would know to stay away from him.

"Neither myself or Mark had the information needed to stop his death.

"The current system for monitoring sex offenders is not working."

Mark's Law also calls for a review of where sex offenders are housed and for tougher sentences for paedophiles.

Ms Cummings added: "I didn't ask for any of this to happen, it haunts me everyday and I don't want any other family to suffer the way we have suffered."

Margaret Ann Cummings has been campaigning for Mark's Law

Some MSPs on the Justice 2 committee questioned her proposals.

Jackie Baillie, the convener of the committee, raised concerns that disclosing the details of sex offenders could simply lead to them going underground.

Tory MSP Alex Fergusson told how a sex offender in his Galloway and Upper Nithsdale constituency had been hounded from various homes, until he was forced to live anonymously.

Meanwhile Labour MSP for East Lothian, John Home Robertson, pointed out it was easy for offenders to move from one area to another.

Therefore he argued that giving parents information about people in a limited area may give them a false sense of security.