Could you be a Childline counsellor? The charity is looking for Leeds volunteers

Childline is looking for people from all walks of life to volunteer their time to help vulnerable children

Childline is looking for more volunteers in Leeds as it is currently only able to help two in every three children that get in touch.

The contact centre, which is run by the NSPCC, provides more than 8,000 counselling sessions on subjects including friendship issues, gender and sexuality, suicide and abuse.

Due to demand and a shortage of resources, the team in Leeds cannot reply to every child that gets in touch, the charity said.

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Childline staff and volunteers in Leeds handle more than 8,000 contacts a year

The Leeds Childline base in St John’s Offices on Albion Street is one of two centres solely dedicated to online counselling sessions for children.

This means that specially trained counsellors in Leeds only offer confidential advice either via email or live chat messages.

Since switching to online only counselling in 2011, the Leeds base has been contacted 52,134 times by young people.

More fundraising by ordinary people would also help the centre, as each contact costs the centre £4 to respond to a child in need of support. Any money raised in Leeds can go directly to local services rather than going to the national charity.

Darren Worth, senior Childline supervisor, said volunteers are a diverse group of people from all walks of life.