AN innovative Internet scheme that is helping to tackle bullying at a Darlington school has attracted the attention of the Government.

The Guardian Angels initiative, at Eastbourne Comprehensive School, is believed to be one of the first of its kind in the country.

It allows pupils to anonymously report incidences of bullying online via the school's internal website.

The messages are then picked up by other pupils, who have been specially trained to deal with bullying.

They alert teachers to problems and offer the victims advice.

The scheme has proved such a success that headteacher Karen Pemberton has been asked to give a talk at an anti-bullying conference organised by the Department for Education and Skills (DfES), in Eaglescliffe, Stockton, today. She said: "It started because we had a system where children who were complaining about bullying were allocated a 'secret friend', another pupil to watch was happening to them.

"The idea is that the children being bullied don't know they are being looked after and the bully doesn't know who is doing the telling.

"Then came the idea for Guardian Angels, a website set up with the help of Darlington Youth Service."

The service means children who are too afraid to talk to a teacher about bullying can report problems via e-mail.

It is also used by those who have witnessed another pupil being bullied but do not want to be seen as a telling tales.

The school's deputy headteacher Geof Sewell, recruited the Guardian Angel volunteers and only he knows their identities.

"It is very, very confidential," said Ms Pemberton.

"Even I don't know who they are, or how many there are. They respond to the children anonymously about how to deal with the bullying and report incidences to senior staff

"It was slow to start, but it has picked up. There are all sorts of things that have come to light that we wouldn't otherwise have known about and which we have dealt with."

Ms Pemberton believes the "secret friend" scheme has eradicated physical bullying in the school and hopes Guardian Angels will do the same for psychological bullying.

A DfES spokesman said: "Schools are adopting different kinds of methods to tackle bullying in an innovative way, and we welcome initiatives like the one at Eastbourne."