LOCAL Samaritans have launched a recruitment drive for volunteers willing to give up their own time to help people in despair.

The Northallerton and the Dales branch in Crosby Road, Northallerton has 70 volunteers but wants to recruit another 16 for the in-house training sessions which start next month.

"This type of volunteer work is hugely challenging as each telephone call is so different and it can be immensely rewarding too," said a spokeswoman.

She added: "Samaritan phone lines are open 24 hours a day, seven days a week for those who are lonely or in distress and despair.

"But there are times when our volunteer numbers are low when Samaritans are on holiday or even away with flu or illnesses, so with more volunteers we could reach our ultimate aim to keep the telephones manned all the time."

Each new volunteer works with an experienced Samaritan for a period of time and is also trained to answer e-mails, to talk face to face with troubled visitors to the centre and can expand their experiences to include prison visiting and giving talks to schools and societies.

Fundraising is also a vital part of Samaritan life as each branch has to be self-funding and the Crosby Road branch costs about £22,000 per year to keep open.

For more information about Samaritans and the next training sessions, contact the branch at 7 Crosby Road, Northallerton DL6 1AA, or telephone them on 01609-776161.