The Liverpool Echo has launched the UK’s first telephone helpline dedicated to tackling the problem of bullying.

The free and confidential Bully Busters service has been set up after 18 months of planning and fundraising – which has seen £117,000 donated to run the scheme for the first year, including £5,000 from the Echo’s Sunshine Fund.

The helpline’s team of specialists have been trained to take calls from victims, parents or people with information about the bullying of children and cases of severe bullying will then be reported to the local authorities.

Echo assistant editor Andrew Edwards is behind the scheme. He said: “It was a collective idea between the Echo and the Merseyside TUC. About 18 months ago a lad committed suicide and it was revealed that he was subjected to bullying, among other issues.

“This got us going and the TUC locally has a philosophy that it should look after its members ‘from cradle to the grave’. People there are concerned for the welfare of families and not just the members.

“We had to go to the five main local education authorities to get them to sign up and put money in. With their money and the Safer Merseyside Partnership we got it going with fully trained councillors who have experience in talking to victims of domestic violence and race hate.”

A conference is planned to review the helpline’s progress after the first six months to decide on how to continue its funding. The Echo has already pledged another £5,000 for the second year of the scheme.

Andrew said: “It’s looking good. The most important thing is that it is used and gets results. After the first week 12 actual cases were being investigated.

“We launched it with a blaze of publicity including case studies of children being bullied and of a former bully. We spoke to schools for human interest stories and we had a spread a day for the first three days.”

Echo editor Mark Dickinson said: “It’s been a long, hard slog, but [the] launch makes it all worth it.

“We all applaud the great work done by ChildLine, but everyday there are children in Merseyside who feel they have nowhere to turn.

“Now they have someone who will listen to their problems and, more importantly, understand them fully.

“The local links are vital to the whole Bully Busters project.”

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