A BULLIED schoolgirl was today taking her appeal for an English Children's Commissioner to Downing Street.

Joanne Geldart, 14, from Ferryhill, County Durham, has endured name-calling, punching and kicking since her first day at primary school.

Now she wants the Prime Minister to introduce a "children's champion" to stand up for innocent victims of bullies.

She is visiting Downing Street to hand a letter demanding action after Tony Blair, who is her local MP, turned down a request to meet her in his Sedgefield constituency.

Joanne said she is speaking up for the majority of bullying victims who are forced to suffer in silence.

"In this country we need a Children's Commissioner not just for me, but for every person who gets bullied," she said.

"I have been bullied that long that I do not remember what it is like to walk down the street without kids calling me hurtful names or insulting me."

Her mother, Ann, who was herself bullied at school, said: "Joanne is determined to meet Tony Blair face-to-face."

The teenager shot to national attention in June after making public a diary of the physical and verbal assaults on her which she uses to help her deal with the problem.

In it she revealed she had contemplated suicide after being singled out because of her weight and a natural white streak in her blonde hair.

Nearly half of children experience bullying at some point and one in 12 suffer sustained attacks, according to the NSPCC.

Wales already has a Children's Commissioner and Scotland and Northern Ireland are moving ahead with plans for similar posts.

The NSPCC said it was concerned that English schoolchildren could be left with less protection than their counterparts elsewhere in the UK.

A spokesman for the charity said: ''The proposed meeting is a welcome first move, but it does not necessarily mean that England will get a commissioner with sufficient powers, and who is independent and speaks for all children.

''We hope the Government listens carefully to Joanne and other children who care so passionately about this issue.''