THERE are plenty of people who believe 22-year-old former probationary policeman Matthew Brooks and his 16-year-old fiance Naomi Mills should be left to rebuild their lives away from prying eyes - ours and the public's.

The Sunday newspaper coverage guarantees that won't happen - their decision.

But, while the runaways are spoken of in the same breath as the manufactured drama of Big Brother, it shouldn't be forgotten that the couple have left a trail of disruption and devastation behind them.

Forget talk of star-crossed lovers. This isn't Romeo and Juliet. At 22, Matthew Brooks ought to have known better.

If there's any sympathy to be felt, it's with the people who've been left to pick up the pieces.

Their families, friends and neighbours want the saga put behind them, preferring privacy to media intrusion. But it won't happen. The national media deal will ensure that.

If Max Clifford's right, the £100,000 they stand to make from selling their story might provide them with a temporary lifeline back towards an ordinary existence.

But it won't last forever - and neither will the excitement and apprehension that comes with lives lived so closely in such passionately intense circumstances.

So were they right to sell? Well, the Crown Prosecution Service and police say no crime was committed, so why not?

What they must realise, however, is that - if we're all honest - the public's appetite for gossip is insatiable. And that will remain the case for a long time after the cash has gone.